Gregor and the Untitled Adventure
by Dak Flaber
Summary: Takes place after 'Code of Claw'. What starts out as a journey for inner peace leads into something much more sinister. Rated 'T' due to mature themes and whatnot that come up every now and then.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: I own nothing. That's not technically true, but I mean it in the sense I own nothing relating to ****Gregor the Overlander**** and it's subsequent installments. Bragging rights for ownership of those belong to Suzanne Collins. That is all. **

**I**

There were so many ways to die.

At times it seemed like anything you did would kill you. Gregor had been in plenty of situations like that. He had faced everything from giant rats to man-eating plants. As far as nasty and painful ways of dying went, Gregor had dealt with quite a few of them. On the other hand, however, there were other ways of dying he had not encountered. For example, he had never been in a position where his mother would strangle him.

Actually, Gregor thought as he walked across the deserted street, she would probably do something worse. Like lock him in his room for all eternity, human contact be damned. Yeah, there were probably things worse than death.

Boredom was one of those things. Another was restlessness. Gregor had been plagued with both for a six solid months. It wasn't from lack of activity though. Gregor's family had moved just two short moths after the 'Laundry Room Incident' had drawn to a close. New York City to middle-of-nowhere Virginia. Whoop-dee-doo. Gregor had gotten firsthand experience with living on a farm, driving half and hour to get to school, and what he considered southern accents. His parents acted like it was a new leaf, a brand-spanking-new opportunity to start over from the craziness that had kept a stranglehold on their family for years. Unfortunately, Gregor had come to expect craziness as the norm. As had Boots. Even Lizzie felt that their parents' hopes of starting over were misguided.

Gregor sort rode on autopilot for the four months they lived there. He went about 'normal' life quietly and without any real attempts to settle in. He just kept to himself. The quiet kid. The new one that just moved in from the big city. Distant and detached. That pretty much described Gregor…

Boots, being Boots, made friends within hours of their arrival, and all in all was not affected by the move. She made passing references to "Temp, her bug friend,' and 'Flying with the bats,' in conversation with grown-ups and kids alike acting like these sort of things were to be expected. When any adults asked Gregor's parents about it, they just shrugged vaguely and mentioned the active imagination of the childhood mind.

Lizzie succumbed to panic attacks more often. It soon became apparent that they were not for the old reasons, however. One night she was worried Ripred may not survive. Another day during World History, she started stressing out because she was worried that the Underland may not learn from their mistakes and plunge into another war. As time wore on, Lizzie became more and more prone to breaking down several times a day.

All in all, Virginia was not the saving grace that Gregor's parents (especially his mom) had hoped for. Gregor's father got in touch with the high school he used to teach at in New York City, and preparations were soon made to return home, much to everyone's relief. Gregor's grandma stayed in Virginia with some relatives better equipped to handle her, and just as quickly as they arrived, Gregor and his family left.

It was four days after their return that Gregor was walking the streets at night. He was allegedly at Larry's house to sleepover to celebrate Gregor's return, but that was not the truth. Gregor had just wanted out.

The new apartment was larger than the old one. Boots had spent the past few days begging whoever was nearby to play hid-and-go-seek with her. She instantly fell in love with their balcony, and loved to wave at people as they passed underneath. Lizzie too felt more secure, and Gregor suspected it had more to do with being close to Ripred than she would admit. Gregor's father was euphoric that his Underland illness had cleared up smoothly, and he was incredibly enthusiastic about regaining his old job at last, and Grace (Gregor's mother), was just happy that everyone else was happy. Gregor had to agree with Lizzie. It _was_ much better to be connected in some way to the Underland, despite all the pain associated with the place.

Gregor had reached Central Park. The April night was pleasant, and a playful breeze swept through as dusk began to creep out in earnest. Gregor took a deep breath and couldn't help but smile.

Now matter how bad it was, life was wonderful.

He had set out without a clear destination in mind, but as he walked the lonely streets a plan had begun to form in his head. A plan that made him think about just how far his mother would go with punishment if she found out.

Gregor was going back to the Underland.

He didn't want to see anyone. He didn't want to talk. He just wanted to, well, _remember_. Nobody would ever know. There was no reason to think that he would be punished if his mom never found out. Gregor couldn't help but grin as he started to roll the enormous boulder aside. With an unwilling crunch, the large rock shifted to reveal a staircase. A staircase down into the bowels of the earth below New York City. Before he took his first step, he paused. A strange feeling engulfed him, so powerful it threatened to overwhelm him. He didn't know what it was at first, but as he stepped on the first stair step, he knew what it was.

Gregor felt like he was truly going home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Once again, I own nothing. That's not technically true, but I mean it in the sense I own nothing relating to ****Gregor the Overlander**** and it's subsequent installments. Bragging rights for ownership of those belong to Suzanne Collins. That is all. **

**II**

The staircase was made of concrete, which was not a commodity that the Underland had, so it was most likely made by New Yorkers long, long ago. It was also probably forgotten long, long ago, otherwise the Underland wouldn't be a secret. It was most likely discovered, then explored a bit, then a request was put into the mayor's office for further study, but thanks to two-hundred-year-old bureaucracy nothing was ever done.

That was all well and good, Gregor decided as he descended deeper and deeper. Nothing like the discovery of giant sentient insects and rodents living underneath modern civilization to stir things up. Then there was the fact that the Underland was so drastically different from the hustle and bustle of the world. The Underlanders still used a sort of archaic English, and their technology was not anywhere near the technology driven world of today. Heck, they still used swords and had a monarchy. Man, you couldn't find anywhere on the surface of the Earth like that anymore.

Despite this, or perhaps because of it, Gregor was totally fascinated by the Underland. Well, if he was being honest, that was only partly true. He blushed slightly as he reached the pitch black of the cavern that meant he had left the Overland behind. He liked the people of the Underland more than the actual place itself. To be specific, one person in particular. . .

To distract his line of thought, he clicked his tongue a couple of times. He hadn't taken a flashlight, and there was no way he could see. Except by echolocation, a skill he had mastered during a two-day stint in a dungeon. Echolocation proved to be similar to riding a bike; once you learned how, you could never forget. He soon got his bearings, then walked over to the drop that lead to the Waterway, the huge body of water that was the Underland's ocean.

Gregor paused. Typically a bat, usually his bond, Ares, met him here and Gregor would drop down onto the bat's back for a flight to Regalia. As Ares was dead, Gregor was not entirely sure of what to do.

The unexpected forced thoughts of Ares made Gregor slightly weak-kneed, but he regained his composure quickly. He had spent his silence the past six months thinking about Ares, and all the others who had lost their lives during Gregor's adventures in the Underland. He had finally come to peace with the fact Ares was gone, though Gregor carried Ares claw with him at all times. He took comfort in knowing that wherever his strong, black bat was, Gregor had something to remember him by. He had taken the claw and made a small hole and threaded a piece of string through to make a necklace that he never removed. It really helped Gregor deal with the loss. Well, that and a toy black bat that Boots had christened 'Ares' that Gregor kept on his nightstand.

Gregor shook his head and returned to his immediate problem. He clicked his tongue to get a feel for the drop. The water was raging very quickly, though the sound of the rushing could have told him that. In addition, the drop was very far, at least a hundred feet. Gregor frowned. He wasn't about to turn back. He sat and thought for a couple minutes. There had to be another way… He sprang up, and clicked his tongue again. He was right! He had been ambushed before, by a couple of rats, and they must've come from another tunnel, which Gregor soon located with echolocation.

His pride in his ability to echolocate and his discovery of another tunnel soon evaporated though. He had started down the tunnel when a nasty thought struck him; what if he ran into some rats? Worse, what if the humans and rats were at war again, and they felt the need to dismember him? He had no weapon, and no way to get help. Gregor weighed his options. If Ripred still lead the rats, there was a good chance the rager had maintained a peace between the races. . . Gregor bit his lip. He steeled his nerve, and headed down the tunnel.

About half an hour later, Gregor's initial fear of being attacked by rats was gone, only to be replaced with another fear; what if he got lost?

He had been following his original path more or less, but the tunnel constantly curved and forked and had additional tunnels connect to it. He was fairly certain he could find his way back, but could he? He paused at where the tunnel split into four paths. Either he was getting paranoid, or he had heard voices… He strained his ears to hear anything…

"Come, our rounds are nearly done. Let us make haste so we may return back to the city."

There were definitely voices. Gregor did not want to deal with anyone, regardless of species. He clicked his tongue quietly and found a suitable rock to protect him from being discovered. He dove behind it, heart pounding, and waited.

Using echolocation, Gregor found that there were two men, presumably scouts or a border patrol. Or something Gregor didn't know the name of. The men entered the cavern, and waited for a moment. One (a rather fat one, according to Gregor's echolocation) sneezed.

"Shall we go? There is no sign of any disruption." the fat one asked.

"Not yet. Our orders are to wait until we hear the bells." his companion said calmly.

Several minutes passed. Gregor was biting his lip. Where they ever going to leave? Just when he was about to wonder if the wait was worth it, a faint peal of bells reached his ears.

"Oh! The bells have sounded!" the fat man said happily. "We must be off."

"Aye."

"I hope supper is ready when we return to Regalia. I am famished."

The fat man's comrade said nothing, but Gregor could tell he was shaking his head.

Gregor silently shadowed the scouts all the way to Regalia. The fat man (or 'Whiner' as Gregor named him) constantly bemoaned everything, and his more composed companion never really acknowledged him. Gregor, lost in thought, only paid the two scant attention. He was more concerned about what would happen when he got to the human city.

He ran through several courses of action, each more likely to end worse than the last. By the time the two men stopped, Gregor was thoroughly annoyed at his lack of planning. The two men were hailed by a larger group, comprised of torch-wielding humans. Whiner instantly started to complain to the larger crowd. The throng stayed and talked for a few minutes as Gregor lurked out of sight, contemplating his best course of action.

He was so wrapped up in thought, it was a long time before he realized the group of soldiers was gone. He gave a nervous start. It was sort of comforting to know that if anything bad did happen, he would have armed guards nearby.

Gregor leapt from behind his boulder and dashed as quietly as he could along the path. It was twisty and uneven, but there were no forks. Gregor found a comfortable rhythm, and was just getting relaxed when the ground disappeared.

"Oh MAN!" Gregor shouted, skidding to a halt. He fell down, and clapped his hands over his mouth as his echo carried throughout… wherever he was. Gregor got to his feet and scurried back to the mouth of the tunnel he had been running through and crouched down, scanning for anyone in the area. There was no one around, and after a minute, Gregor stood and walked cautiously out of the tunnel. He was on an outcropping of rock, some three hundred feet from the ground, and the city of Regalia.

The city looked pristine and bright; a shining beacon of safety in the hostile world of the Underland. It was just as awe-inspiring and beautiful as when Gregor first saw it. . . or was it? After the gnawers and diggers had ransacked the city during the most recent war, large portions of the city had been destroyed, and not all reconstruction was complete. Here and there buildings and homes were not intact, large piles of debris were stacked in several of the street, and the mighty palace, with its once un-scalable walls, had several cracks running down the sides.

Gregor tore his eyes away from the damaged city, and looked down again. The humans must've used bats to get down, he thought, eyeing the free-fall, there's no other way to get down. Gregor sighed, and sat on the ledge, dangling his feet into the abyss. This was as close as he was going to get, and he was fine with that. There was no way he was going to backtrack and try another way to get into Regalia, especially since entering the city would almost certainly mean he would be spotted and recognized. He gritted his teeth. If only we wasn't so obviously not from the Underland. Not only would it make getting by unnoticed easier, but then he wouldn't get called 'Overlander'. He didn't really mind it, but right now it was making him pretty mad. When people saw him, it wasn't 'Hey, Gregor,' or 'Hi, man,' it was always-

"Greetings Overlander."

Gregor leapt to his feet and whirled around.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: Oh, hi. Just in case you forgot, I still don't own anything relating to ****Gregor the Overlander**** and its sequels. All that wonderful stuff belongs to Suzanne Collins. That is all.**

**III**

He grasped for a sword that wasn't there, and then nearly fell over again. Blinking, he regained his balance, his eyes adjusting. The voice had not been threatening, nor had it been male…

Nerissa was leaning against the wall, smiling her enigmatic smile.

Gregor felt his jaw drop. Of all the people he had thought he would encounter, Nerissa was at the bottom of the list. For one thing, she was still looking very slight and frail, and her waist-length hair was tangled, giving an air of weakness to her. She looked quite well now though, or at least in comparison to when the war had been going on. . .

Realizing he must look like a moron, Gregor did his best to pull himself together. "Nerissa! How-what? Er…" he bit his lip, "What's up?" he finished lamely.

She smiled with more warmth than Gregor had seen her posses. "What do you mean, Gregor the Overlander?"

"Uh, like, what's going on. You know-" he gestured in the general direction of the city. "like, here. What's new? I mean since I left. Since the war ended. If it did end. Um, yeah…"

She cocked her head to the side, and looked very closely at him. "No one knows that you are here, correct?"

"Ah. About that. No. Well, it depends. Why are you asking?" Gregor said, his relieved feeling at seeing Nerissa fading. If she told Vikus or someone, he'd be in a lot deeper than he ever meant to be.

She shrugged. "You secret is safe with me, Overlander. Now, as for your questions. . ." she trailed off. "Will you come with me?"

Gregor hesitated. "Where are you going?" Come to think of it, how had she gotten up here? She must've come through the caves, right? Gregor hadn't heard bat wings flapping, and he actually wasn't entirely sure Nerissa even had a bond. . .

"To Ares' place."

She didn't need to explain what she meant. A wave of emotion hit Gregor, and he didn't trust himself to talk, so he only nodded. Nerissa, as if sensing his weakness, step forward and offered her arm. The irony of the frail Nerissa giving support to the mighty ex-warrior did not escape Gregor, but again, he did not comment. She guided him not to the tunnel entrance as he had expected, but instead over to the edge furthest away from the city. Gregor's curiosity overcame his momentary emotional instability.

"Nerissa, how did you get up here?"

"I flew."

"I didn't know you had a bond. . ."

Nerissa laughed faintly. "I have no flier bonded to me, Gregor."

"Then how. . .?" Gregor vaguely remembered someone mentioning bats that weren't bonded to you almost never took you places. Or something like that.

"I use the butterflies." Nerissa breathed in his ear. Gregor was about to reply when he saw them. The butterflies were not enormous as the rest of the creatures of the under land were (three or four people could ride on a good sized bat, but it looked as if only one could fit on a butterfly), but they were still huge by Overland standards. Despite that, they still looked delicate. Their wings were covered with bright flashes of color, something very uncommon in the grey-hued Underland.

Nerissa reached out her free hand and one of the seven butterflies floated towards her. It hovered serenely for a moment, then landed on the precipice. Gregor stood by himself, and Nerissa slid onto the butterfly's back. "Come, Gregor," she said, gesturing behind her.

"Can it support us both, I mean…" Gregor quickly caught himself. Underland creatures were sentient, and he didn't want to go around annoying the butterflies right off the bat. "What is your name?" Gregor addressed the question to the butterfly.

The butterfly serenely fluttered its antennae, but said nothing. Perplexed, Gregor turned to Nerissa, who shrugged. "They do not speak as we do."

"Oh, okay. . . But they understand me, right?"

"To an extent. If you come, I will explain as we fly."

"Sure, as long as it can support us both. Or maybe I could ride separately."

Nerissa shook her head. "As far as I have been able to discern, I am the only one they will allow to ride. As you are with me, they should not object. And perhaps you have heard of cutters being able to carry objects whose weight exceeds their own several times over?"

Gregor nodded. Ants could carry up to fifty times their body weight, or something. Or at least the Overland ones could.

"A similar property applies here. They are quite capable of carrying us both."

Gregor hesitated for a heartbeat, then slid onto the butterflies' back behind Nerissa. The butterfly started to flap its brilliant wings, and they were airborne.

The butterflies flew smoothly and faster than Gregor had anticipated. He felt that grabbing Nerissa around the waist to hang on would not be the best idea, so he sort of leaned into her. As he did, he asked "So d'you wanna tell me about the butterflies now?"

Nerissa explained that the butterflies did not live in a mapped part of the Underland. They were largely migratory, but the world that was not explored by humans, rats, etc. was so large that even though the butterflies were almost constantly on the move, contact with other species was rare. They moved around so much as they were always looking for a certain substance Nerissa did not know the name for. In addition, they had no governing body, as they traveled in groups ranging from three to twenty, and each individual in the group was an equal.

The fact that the butterflies had no wars or leaders was very impressive to Gregor, and probably a lot more so to Nerissa, given the Underland's tendency to be in a constant state of near-war and revolution. The 'substance' the butterflies were always looking for was most likely flower nectar, which would be rare down here, Gregor thought. The only flowers he had seen were in that one jungle, where the flowers would probably eat any butterflies who ventured near enough to get nectar. He wasn't done with questions though.

"Nerissa, how do they communicate? How do they talk to us?"

"That is. . . complicated. They communicate largely with the broadcast of emotions to one another. Their aura alters depending on what they want to convey. The butterflies have it down to such a level of competence that they understand exactly what is being said."

"They read what? Auras? Like," Gregor rubbed his temple. "I don't know. Could you elaborate?"

"Each butterfly, each living thing actually, has a field of energy around them." Nerissa explained. "Depending on your mood, the color or state of your aura changes."

Gregor shook his head. "So they can read each other, great. How about us? We have auras for them to see, but how do they talk to us?"

"Each species' aura is different. They know the general idea of what we want, what we feel, but cannot understand specifics. And as for us understanding them, we cannot."

"Then how do you know all that stuff about them?"

"I can see auras."

". . .Oh. . ."

They lapsed into silence, Gregor doing his best to digest all the new information. After a while, he spoke up again. "Hey Nerissa, does that mean you can see my aura? Everyone's aura?"

Nerissa nodded her head. "Yes. . . and no. I can read yours, Overlander, but most humans have very blurry auras. I cannot find words to explain it. Fuzzy. Difficult to make out."

"Why mine?" he asked.

"I do not know. Your family had auras that were easier to read than the rest, but even among your kin, yours shines brightly."

"Okay then." Gregor said, feeling very confused. He cast around for another subject. "Oh! So the war! I mean, the war that might've happened. Did it happen?"

"If you mean to ask whether we are war with the gnawers, then the answer is no. In fact, a truce and peace has befallen all the warm-blooded races. To be honest, I do not believe there will be a major conflict for a while. Too much has been lost, and time is required to rebuild."

Gregor nodded. That made sense. Even if there were those who wanted war, chances were that they didn't have enough supplies or troops or resources to actually fight.

The butterflies suddenly began to descend, and clicking his tongue, Gregor found they were headed to a cave. The cave where not so long ago, Ares the bat had made his secret home.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Guys, guess what! I just got legal rights over ****Gregor the Overlander**** and its sequels! How cool is that? Actually, I'm lying to you. In all serious-ness, all the rights to the aforementioned books and series belong to Suzanne Collins. That is all. **

**IV**

The butterfly Gregor and Nerissa were on pulled up next to the entrance to the cave, and Gregor leapt off immediately. He landed deftly in a crouch, then straightened up. The cave was dark, and Gregor couldn't see for the life of him, but he tried not to use his echolocation. He closed his eyes and took a step forward.

He had first come to Ares secret home nearly two years ago.

Was that all? It seemed so much longer than that. Decades, at least. Centuries, perhaps. The Underland moved very quickly. Or not at all, depending on how you looked at it.

Ares had suffered from the plague here all alone. Ares had been the first one to get the disease, but he had not given into it. He had faith in Gregor. That Gregor, an eleven-year-old boy, chosen by coincidence and prophecy, could save him. And all the other warm bloods to boot.

Ares had recovered only to go practically straight into war. Fantastic. Gregor squeezed his eyes shut tighter.

Between being betrayed by his best friend, standing on trial for not killing the Bane, dying of an incurable plague, saving the mice, and fighting in a colossal war, (no wonder the Underland was so screwed up!) Ares would seek solace and peace in here.

Gregor found himself on his knees. Really, it had all been pointless. Even if the unsteady peace holding the warmbloods together lasted for a while, there would always be another King Gorger, looking for personal gain and power. There would always be another Solovet, who fully believed in 'look out for number one'. There would always be the threat of war, more death, more loss, more pointless destruction.

People had died on every side. Brothers, fathers, mothers, sisters, cousins, best friends, neighbors, people who _meant_ something to someone.

Gregor was crying. He couldn't feel the tears, but then again, he wasn't really him. He was looking down at himself. He watched as his body convulsed with emotion. He felt nothing, but real Gregor did. Real Gregor felt something very much.

As Nerissa slowly came to Gregor's side, floating Gregor suddenly was back into himself. He felt embarrassed when Nerissa gently laid a hand on his shoulder, and he tried to stop crying, but it wouldn't work. He still did his best to wipe away his tears, though.

Nerissa did not speak, which Gregor was very grateful for. He took one more deep, shuddering breath in. He could do this. He stood slowly, and cleared his throat.

The room was lit. Aside from the torch-staff Nerissa held in her free hand, a few torches in the walls blazed with light as well.

"Oh, hey there, Nerissa," Gregor said, "Didn't see you come in."

She smiled, but there was something sad about it. "Your love for Ares is deep."

Gregor shrugged awkwardly, and she slid her hand off his shoulder. "Yeah, it is."

They stood in silence for a moment, then Gregor asked; "Nerissa, don't you think that all the constant chaos down here is just crazy? I mean, you guys are always on the brink of some disaster or other."

Nerissa slowly nodded. "I agree, Gregor. But to many, it is expected. You must know this."

"Yeah, but-"

"And from what I understand you are not a utopia aboveground either."

"Well, it's not really the same. It's like. . ." Gregor paused. "Ok, fine. It's pretty bad up there too." he admitted.

Nerissa nodded. "You just aren't used to our sort of problems."

"I guess you could say that. . ." Gregor cast out for another subject. "How did you find me up on that cliff?"

Nerissa smiled at him again (he had never seen her smile so much; it was kind of odd.) "When I was younger, say around ten and four months, I had a vision of an Overlander boy sitting deep in thought on a precipice overlooking Regalia. When I first met you, I did not know it to be you that I saw in my dream. You have changed from when you first came down here."

"Oh, so you like, foresaw me there? Okay. I guess."

"In addition," Nerissa continued, "Within in a few minutes of that, I was overcome with an intense desire to speak to Ares." (Gregor felt a twinge of sadness echo through him.) "I found he and Henry discussing Ares' hideaway. I had never heard of it before, but I knew this is why I had to speak with them."

"I asked them to take a blank stone tablet and certain utensils to their cave. They asked why, of course, but I did not know why. Until today." She directed her torchlight to the back of the room.

There was a pile of various items all covered in cobwebs. Gregor walked over to it, and shot a questioning glance at Nerissa, who nodded.

The layer of cobwebs and dust gave evidence that the pile had been sitting there for a long time. On top was a wide, fairly thick, smooth rock slab Nerissa had described. Underneath was an assortment of carving tools. Gregor knew instantly what he had to do. Futhermore, he knew he wanted to do it alone. "Nerissa," he began.

She cut him off. "I understand, Overlander. And even if I did not, I would still be missed for dinner."

"Oh, ok, thanks." Gregor said, earnestly meaning the 'thanks'. "But since when do you eat with everyone."

Nerissa actually laughed at this. "Since Luxa wants to keep an eye on everyone."

Gregor laughed too, feeling a warmth at the sound of Luxa's name. "Ironic, huh? See you, Nerissa."

"Farewell, Gregor. I shall return." A butterfly appeared at the cave entrance and she was gone.

Gregor turned his attention to the rock. It was quite evident to him that he was to create a sort of marker for Ares, presumably within the cave. That felt quite fitting to Gregor.

Using his hands, he dug a small trench about ten feet in from the cave entrance. He set the slab upright and balanced it so it would not fall over. Selecting a tool from the pile, Gregor braced his arm behind the slab so it wouldn't fall over when he chiseled into it.

He furrowed his brow, thinking hard. What to write? The slab was about three feet high, but Gregor didn't trust his carving skills enough to write something lengthy. And somehow, a long speech didn't feel right. Ares was a bat of few words, and Gregor felt that his memorial marker should reflect that.

* * *

Two hours later, Gregor stood at the mouth of the cave looking at his handiwork. He had stabbed a torch on either side of the slab in the dirt floor to illuminate the writing so it could be read all the way from the entrance. The slab read simply:

HERE LIES THE

SPIRIT OF ARES

BAT, BOND, HERO

In the light of the flickering torches that night, Gregor finally let Ares go.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note: Hello there. Tragically, I still am not in ownership of the rights to ****Gregor the Overlander****, ****Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane****, ****Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods****, ****Gregor and the Marks of Secret****, and/or ****Gregor and the Code of Claw****. As to be expected, those coveted rights belong to Suzanne Collins. That is all.**

**V**

Gregor was sitting behind the grave marker, his knees drawn up to his chest. His eyes were closed, and his arms wrapped tightly around his legs. Even with the guilt and raw emptiness of Ares' ghost laid to rest, Gregor still had a lot to think about. Too much for a teenager to deal with, in his opinion.

He trusted Nerissa to arrive later that night, or at least early next morning. He assumed she knew that he had to be back to his family by 10 o'clock at the latest. There was no use worrying about that.

No, Gregor was more concerned with what he should do regarding the Underland as a whole. Nerissa had assured him peace was still dominant, but in his sort of epiphany in the cave earlier, Gregor felt more had to be done. Logically, the distrust between the different races (largely the humans and the gnawers) wouldn't just disappear overnight, no matter the danger. The more Gregor thought about it, the more certain he became of a solution. In order to make sure the humans and rats (or anyone else) couldn't turn on each other, there had to be a system where every species was interdependent on one another to such an extent that their cooperation was absolutely essential to their survival. To create such a system would require time, however. Lots and lots of time. Initial hate and skepticism had to clear up, and that alone would take years.

How on earth could everyone be at peace for years? Gregor knew of periods where everyone wasn't as hostile towards each other in Underland history. . . what caused them? Mutual need. That was what brought Ripred into the picture in the very beginning of Gregor's adventures. That was why the humans and rats teamed up to ward off the alleged cutter invasion. That had to be it. When Nerissa returned, he would talk to her about his ideas. In the meantime, Gregor was feeling emotionally drained. . . Sleep would be nice. . .

* * *

Gregor woke with a start. He was lying on his side, curled against the slab. Someone had tossed a blanket over him.

"Nerissa?" he hissed.

Silence pressed against his ears. "Nerissa?" he said, a bit louder. He sat and clicked his tongue.

"Yes, Gregor?"

He peered over the top to the marker. Nerissa, who had apparently been sleeping on the other side, was shaking her hair out of her eyes and blinking up at him.

"Oh, hey. I was just wondering. . . Nevermind. Sorry to wake you up."

"Oh, it's fine." she said, stifling a yawn. "You should probably return to the Overland now anyway."

"Oh man!" Gregor frantically pulled out his cell phone. "What time is it?"

The screen glowed, momentarily blinding him. Squinting, he read that it was six in the morning. "Cool, I thought I was way late." Gregor shoved his phone in his pocket as Nerissa stood.

"Sh-shall I return you to where you came into the Underland?" she said, failing to stop another yawn.

"Nah, it's alright for now. Maybe in a few hours." he sat back down. "But since we're up, I'd like to talk to you if you're awake enough."

She nodded, and sat cross-legged across from him. "What is on your mind, Gregor?"

"Ah," Gregor fumbled. Her unblinking gaze was sort of unsettling. "Well, I just wanted to know what you thought about this idea I had. . ." Gregor proceeded to describe his idea of a long-lasting peace. When he finished, he gave her an expectant look.

She did not answer right away. "I believe your idea of a society where everyone is interdependent so any violence would be pointless is a very desirable goal. . . but, Gregor. . .You have to realize. The creatures down here are used to bloodshed. They have relied on it. No matter how connected you make everyone, there will still be hate lurking."

Gregor slumped back, defeated. "Nerissa, there has to be a way to stop any more fighting. At least the major wars. You guys will drive each other to extinction if you keep this up."

Nerissa leaned forward. "Overlander, there is a peace now. It is uncommon, yes, but that does not make it weak. The prophecies that have yet to pass do not explicitly allude to any further large scale wars."

Gregor considered her. "Ok. I'll trust you, Nerissa. Promise me this, though."

"What do you want, Gregor?"

"If you get any sort of word that war is brewing, get word to me. Like, right away. Please."

"I will do my best for you."

"Thanks." Gregor felt really relieved. He didn't want the Underland to plunge into chaos again. And as far as he was concerned, it wouldn't if he had anything to say about it. Then another thought struck him. "Oh, don't tell anyone I was here, okay? Wait, you didn't tell anyone did you?"

Nerissa laughed. "No, Overlander. Your secret is safe with me. I swear."

"Alright, thanks!" Gregor said enthusiastically. He flipped out his phone. "Seven-thirty. Might as well head back home."

Nerissa rose and lead the way to the mouth of the cave, and raised her hands out in front her. Gregor stood behind her silently, giving Ares' cave on last look. He had no intention of returning here ever again, and he wanted to burn the image in his memory forever.

Soon, a butterfly fluttered up to the mouth of the cave and Nerissa slid on. Gregor slowly and deliberately turned away from the grave marker and climbed on behind Nerissa. He awkwardly put his hands on her waist as they flew off. He would never admit it, but he found tears burning his eyes on last time as he flew away from his friend's spiritual resting place.

In no time at all, Gregor was standing on the precipice he had nearly fun off the night before. Gregor and Nerissa embraced, and he whispered "Thank you." in her ear. She smiled her enigmatic smile, then she was gone.

Gregor trekked back, following a path he felt fairly sure was the way he had been going before. He eventually found himself back in the entrance cavern, the rushing of the Waterway confirming his location. He started back up the slope, up the stone steps that were made so long ago, and up into the early light of day.

It's a very funny thing, Gregor mused as he covered up the entrance to the Underland. Yes, he loved the people of the Underland, and the place itself could be very beautiful. . . but the world above held so much. It had a certain peaceful and tranquil feel that the Underland lacked. It had skyscrapers, neon lights, rainy nights, and the stars shining down. In a strange way, the Overland was as magical to Gregor as the Underland was, but for totally different reasons.

Gregor made his way down the streets lost in thought, and before he knew it, he was at the door to his new apartment.

He dusted himself off, knocked some dirt from his hair and took a breath. He knocked once, and waited.

The door was opened almost instantly by Lizzie, who gave him a crushing hug.

"Geez, Liz, you trying to kill me?" he gasped when she had let go.

She grinned. "Oh no, he found out! I better finish the job!"

"Not today, missy!" Gregor cried, tickling her. She burst into uncontrollable laughter, as his mom stuck her head into the entry hall. "Now cut that out you two. Come and get some breakfast. You're just in time, Gregor."

"Yes, mom." they chorused. Grace disappeared into the kitchen, and Lizzie pinched Gregor's arm.

"There, we're even!" she whispered, smiling evilly. Gregor grabbed at her, but she ran off into the kitchen.

Gregor stopped by his room before he went in for breakfast. He had a real room now, not just a hole in the wall. Lizzie and Boots shared a room, as did his parents. Having all that space was really cool for all of them, and Gregor kind of liked the privacy he got. He flung off his jacket and shoes, and went back into the hall where he was greeted by Boots, who was dancing around on the spot.

"Hey you." Gregor said, ruffling her hair.

"Hi! Do you want pancakes?"

"You bet, Boots. I'm starved."

"Oh, hey," she made an 'X' with her fingers. "He has a note for you."

"Huh?"

Boots made the 'X' again. "In my room. You can look at it now." She skipped off to the kitchen, humming.

With a sense of foreboding, Gregor went into the girls' room. Inside was a mix-matched bunch of boxes and toys, but Gregor knew what Boots was talking about right away. On her bed was a piece of paper. It looked old and heavy, like parchment Gregor had seen at a museum.

He picked it up and sat down. It was crudely written, but Gregor was able to read it perfectly.

Welcome back, my little rager. Just make sure you keep your head down. X

A slight chill raced up Gregor's spine. Ripred knew he was back in New York City.


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: Due to lack of innovation, the author has opted out of a relatively entertaining "Author's Note" for chapter six. Along with the author's apologies, the author would like you to know that the rights to ****Gregor the Overlander**** and related works belong to Suzanne Collins, and nobody else. **

**VI**

"You're awfully quiet this morning, Gregor."

Gregor blinked. "Huh? Oh, well, I'm kinda tired. Teenagers don't sleep much at sleepovers, mom." That was a lie. He was not tired in the least; he was just zoning out, thinking about Ripred's letter.

His mom smiled. "That is true; I forgot how those sort of things go. Care for another pancake?"

Gregor and his family were at breakfast. Gregor's father was discussing football with a rather unenthusiastic Lizzie, while Boots and his mom talked about the pancake recipe, leaving Gregor alone with his thoughts about Ripred and the Underland. Up until now, that was.

"Er, sure, thanks." he said. He made a move to get up, but she pushed him back down.

"Boots is our server, remember? You don't want to taker her job, now do you?"

"I guess not." said Gregor, grinning at Boots. Inwardly, however, he sighed. He knew what was coming.

"So how was Larry? What did you boys do last night?" Gregor's mom leaned forward and clasped her hands together, looking intently at him.

Gregor was prepared. "He was good. It was great to see him."

"I bet." Grace nodded.

"And we just hung out. Played a few video games. Messed around with some dart guns. That sort of thing."

Before Gregor's mom could reply, Boots returned with their plates. "Here you go!" she declared. Gregor hurriedly took a large bite as to end his interrogation.

Gregor managed to avoid any more questioning, and by the end of breakfast, the subject of his sleepover had been apparently dropped. Instead, the subject of school had been brought up.

"Now, Lizzie, I think your current backpack is looking a little threadbare. I think we have enough to get you a new one tomorrow. And Margret," (Boots stuck her tongue out at the sound of her real name) "I've gotten a hold of your supply list for the school here, so I think we'll do that tomorrow too. Do you boys need anything?"

Gregor's dad rubbed his hands together excitedly. "I don't really _need_ anything, but I sure would love to take a look around that science store I used to go to."

Grace rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but smile. "How about you, honey? Do you need anything special?"

Gregor shook his head. "Nope. I have everything I need already from Virginia."

"Ok then. Boots, help your father clear the table."

Boots stuck out her tongue again, but slid over to the sink to help anyway.

"I'm going out to pay a visit to Mrs. Cormanci real quick." Gregor's mother said to nobody in particular. "I should be back sooner than later." Then with a flurry of fingers and a kiss, she had picked up her purse and was gone.

Gregor and Lizzie started down the hallway together. "Remind me never to bring up football to dad again." Lizzie sighed.

Gregor grinned. "Oh? Well, if you divert mom from trying to pry every detail about my next sleepover, you have yourself a deal."

Lizzie laughed. "Okay! What do you want to do today?"

Gregor shrugged. "I think I need some sleep." he said, thinking that that would give him an excuse to get some thinking time. To make sure he wouldn't be bothered for a while he followed up with, "And I think you need to get all your stuff unpacked."

Lizzie pouted. "That's no fun! We should play Scrabble or something."

"Oh, c'mon Liz! I don't stand a chance when I'm lacking sleep! And besides, do you want mom nagging you for the next three weeks to get unpacked?"

"Fine, okay, you win. But you have to promise you'll play when I'm done."

"Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye." Gregor vowed.

Lizzie disappeared into her room, and Gregor went inside his. He closed the door behind him, and took out the parchment from his pocket. He shut the curtain and sank down onto his bed.

Welcome back, my little rager. Just make sure you keep your head down. X

Gregor instinctively knew it was from Ripred. The tone just screamed his style, and the rather poor penmanship sealed the deal. Ripred himself had said rats couldn't write. Knowing the ingenious rat that Ripred was, he had probably figured out a way somehow.

Gregor rubbed his temple. Ripred apparently knew he, Gregor, was back in New York City, and where he lived to boot. The 'keep your head down' part was also slightly unnerving. What did Ripred mean? Don't get involved in the Underland? Avoid danger? Was someone or something actively trying to hurt him? The cryptic nature made him want to pull out some hair. How on earth could thirteen little words cause so much trouble? Gregor lay on his back, holding the letter over his head. Try as he might, he could glean no further information from it.

He sighed, and rolled on to his side. Come to think of it, he _was _tired. He tucked the scrap of parchment in his jeans pocket and soon drifted off.

* * *

"Wake up!"

"Hrmle. . ."

"Gregor! I finished!"

"Whuzzah. . ."

"Greg!"

Gregor leapt up. "What did you call me?!"

Lizzie burst into giggles. "I knew that would wake you up."

Gregor shook his head. "You play dirty, Liz. Did you finish?"

"Hours ago." she nodded. "Mom told me to let you sleep for a while though."

"What time is it?"

"One in the afternoon, sleepy-face. Now let's go, you owe me a game!"

Several games of Scrabble later (which involved Lizzie dominating quite a few games, and one stunning comeback on Gregor's part using the word 'ostentatious'), Boots stuck her head into the girls' room.

"Hey you guys!"

"And the 'F' is on a triple letter bonus, so that's twelve plus- oh, heya Boots!"

Boots flopped down next to them. "Dad wants to know if you wanna go to the library."

Lizzie's eyes lit up, and Gregor jumped up. "Does he even have to ask?"

The three of them ran into the kitchen, where their parents were standing. Gregor's dad smiled at his children. "I'm guessing you all want to go?"

The five of them walked down the streets to the library, laughing and enjoying the warmer weather. It struck Gregor as odd that this was the first time in years that they had done something like this. . . The Underland had scrambled their lives so much for so long, they hadn't even been in a photo together in over three years. And here Gregor was, going back to the place that ripped them apart the first chance he got. Gregor was feeling slightly sick from his line of thinking, but his mood soon improved when they reached the local library.

It was easy to see why Gregor was distracted. The library was five stories high, with a modernistic architecture and landscaping that made it incredibly appealing. Inside there were so many nooks and crannies it was a simple matter of finding a few books wandering off and no one could find you. Gregor had spent many hours over the course of his life hidden among the shelves and rooms reading and working on homework with Larry and Angelina.

Once inside, Gregor and Lizzie took off on there own (with Gregor promising to find Lizzie when his parents called him), while Gregor's dad wandered off and Grace accompanied Boots to the children's section.

Gregor roamed around, selecting a few of his favorite books, and then paused. Usually, he went to the top floor to the room with the glass floor, but today he wanted to explore. . . He stayed on the ground floor, and following a maze of public conference rooms, arrived in a small study nook, far away from the crowds. He sank into a beanbag chair, and immersed himself in his stories.

* * *

When Gregor looked out again, he found that the distant noises of the library patrons had faded even more. He checked the clock on his cell phone. Six forty-five. Chances were his dad would call around seven and say it was time to find Lizzie and go. Gregor sighed. He missed going here, but it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to go in the future. Deciding to get a head start on locating Lizzie, he rose. He left the stack of books in the room, and started back the way he came.

He was nearing the exit to the main foyer, when heard an unnatural _whump_. He froze, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. He stayed stock-still, barely breathing, ears tuned for the noise. After a couple of minutes, he began to feel pretty stupid. Someone probably just dropped their bookbag on the ground or something. Berating himself, he started off again, when the _whump_ came again.

Gregor spun around, crouched slightly, his heart smashing like mad in his chest. He crept forward noiselessly, the words '_keep your head down,'_ echoing in the back of his mind. The odd noise came a third time, more to his left. Gregor snuck through a meeting room, past a circular table and past the section on religion to find himself facing the closed door of another study room.

He bit his lip, and thought hard. His reasoning came down to this; if he didn't look to see what was in the room, he would never forgive himself. As the fourth muffled bang came from the room, Gregor laid his hand on the doorknob. _'Keep your head down.'_ Well Ripred, Gregor thought, I'm in a public library. What's the worse thing that could possibly happen?

There was another _thumph_, and Gregor opened the door. Inside were tons of books all over the table and floor. Gregor didn't really take those in, however. His eyes were instead fixed on the back of the Underland rat standing in the middle of the room.

* * *

**Author's Note, Part Deux: Hi. I've never done this before, and odds are astronomically against me ever doing it again. Anyway, I just wanted to throw a quick 'shout-out' to you. Yes, you. Specifically **_**you**_**. You're awesome, thought you might like to know. That's known as 'positive reinforcement' in some circles. As for everyone else (this may or may not include you), I'd like to thank you for your reviews, comments, and positive reinforcement that you have so generously bestowed upon the story, and by extent, me. Your feedback is greatly appreciated. Oh, also, I apologize for the rather long period where there were no updates (Christmas vacation, you know. . .). Hopefully, a week will be the longest time between updates, but I can't make any promises. One last thing: today marks one month from the start of this story. Weird how time flies. That is all. Have an awesome day. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note: As a special New Year's Eve gift, Suzy called me up and said that I could publish ****Gregor and the Untitled Adventure**** and get 100% of the profits! Whoo! But then I realized that I had never given Suzanne Collins my phone number. . . I asked how she got it, but she got offended and revoked her offer and asked me to remind you that rights to ****Gregor the Overlander**** and its sequels belong solely to her. Curses. Oh well. Have a great new year! **

**VII**

Gregor drew in a sharp breath. The rat twitched its nose, then dropped onto all fours and turned around.

"I go to all the trouble to tell you to keep your head down, and the first thing you do is run off to find the only Underland creature aboveground."

Gregor shook his head, but couldn't help but smile. "Your threat was so vague I thought I should hunt you down personally to find out what it means."

Ripred snorted, and reared back onto his hind legs. "Oh? So I'm to understand that your appearance here is totally planned. Uh-huh." Ripred looked pretty much the same as the last time Gregor had seen him. There were fewer holes in his ear due to parasitic mites (presumably the others had healed), and the second diagonal scar that made an 'X' on his face had faded somewhat, but otherwise the enormous rat seemed similar.

"Good to see you too, Ripred." Gregor moved into the room and sat on the table.

"Hmph. Good you say? How do you come to that conclusion, rager-boy? For all you know, the gnawers and humans at each other's throats, and I came to kidnap and kill you."

"I know there's no war." Gregor said, feeling smug. "You can't fool me."

Ripred narrowed his eyes, and took in a deep sniff. "You. . . Who did you visit?" The rat paused and scratched at his ear. "That dreamer girl. Nerissa."

Gregor scowled slightly. "Yes," he said grudgingly. "I went and talked to her."

Ripred cocked his head to one side, and absentmindedly waved his tail, knocking another book off onto the carpet with a muffled thud. "Damn. Why does that always happen?"

Gregor seized the opportunity to change the subject. "For once, I have a legitimate reason to be where I am. Why are you up here?"

With difficulty, Ripred maneuvered a stack of books back to the table. "I told you a while ago I do occasionally go topside. To read, in fact. Or did you forget?"

Gregor said nothing; he had forgotten.

Slumping against a wall, Ripred licked his fangs. "Furthermore, I had to make sure you had gotten your letter."

"How did you manage to write that? You said yourself you can't write without opposable thumbs." Gregor said, interested despite his current annoyance with the rat.

It was Ripred's turn to look smug. "It doesn't take a genius, boy." He held out one claw. "Just dip in this ink and you've got yourself quite a useful pen."

"Too bad your penmanship isn't as good as your innovation." Gregor said, feeling very annoyed. Ripred just laughed.

"What a sharp wit you have. You could end up a professional sarcastic cynic, like me."

"Oh, whatever Ripred. Seriously, what are you doing? Looking for recipes?"

"Just keeping up on current events. If you're allowed go downstairs to fraternize with dear old Nerissa for news, I can certainly wander upstairs for an update or two."

"Uh-huh. Current events, I'll buy that. But," Gregor picked up the top book on the pile Ripred had returned to the table. "I'm pretty sure The Prince was written several centuries ago. Not that current. What are you trying to do? Study up on how to be a good dictator?"

Ripred shrugged and slid further down the wall. "Just curious on how your history unfolded. How your old leaders compared and contrasted to ours. Learn from history, you know."

Gregor wasn't entirely convinced. "Okay, sure. Tell me something else though. How strong is this peace you guys have down there? I want your opinion."

"My, aren't we worried." Ripred yawned, the fluorescent light flashing off his teeth. Gregor started to protest, but the rat cut him off. "Hold it! Metaphorically speaking, our peace is about as strong as, say, a marshmallow bridge. A marshmallow bridge trying to support several tons of ravenous rats."

"What is with your metaphor? Rhetoric question. Don't answer." Gregor ran a hand through his hair. "So you're saying the Underland could descend into war at any given moment."

"Not any given moment. Everything's fine on the surface. The gnawer leader gets along quite well with the human leader, and all the other species have no quibbles. . . No, the problem is an underlying hate amongst the, ah, average citizen."

Gregor bit his lip. He had been afraid of that.

"At first, everyone was happy-go-lucky because playing as a team was the most beneficial thing to do. Now, it's not quite as rewarding. Some even have suggested that if everyone went their separate ways, it would be much more productive."

"So there's nothing holding the peace together?" Gregor asked, his hopes plummeting.

"Well. . . There's the threat of the cutters and their western friends launching an assault. That's about it. Bleak, don't you think?"

Gregor groaned. "Ripred, how can you let this happen? I thought you were all for peace."

"I am," replied the rat, "but others are not. Despite my convenient label as 'Peacemaker' and my lofty position in the eyes of many, I am still only one."

There was a long silence, then;

"If the gnawers and humans stayed aligned, the other creatures that are our allies now would stay that way?"

"If you mean that they will stay loyal, then your answer is yes." Ripred replied.

There was another long pause.

"If there was a way to make sure the humans and rats stayed on good terms. . . Would you do it?"

". . . What do you have in mind, Overlander?"

Gregor couldn't reply. In the darkest deepest depths of his mind, the idea had been growing ever since he had talked to Nerissa. Now with Ripred's prediction that if the current path was not strayed from war would break out, Gregor had acknowledged his own idea. It was wrong, he argued to himself. It was evil, cruel, and blatantly a lie. It would probably cost hundreds of lives. . . But it would perhaps save thousands.

"If the cutters _were_ to attack. . ." Gregor said at last.

"Then the gnawer-human peace would be set in stone, stronger than it would have ever been previously." Ripred stood and focused his gaze on Gregor. "I see we have arrived at similar conclusions."

"Maybe." Gregor said cautiously. "Let's hear your idea."

"You just don't want to be the one who says it." Ripred scoffed. "So here's the idea; The cutters really don't like us, but there's no real reason to remove us. We don't mess with them, they don't mess with us. So the threat of an attack is pretty much idle. Once that fact filters out to everyone, the whispers of separation grow stronger until everyone goes their own ways. Once that happens, it's only a matter of time until fighting breaks out again."

Gregor nodded, and his foot gave a nervous twitch. Ripred seemed to be avoiding the main point too.

"If we continue war at that rate, we will eventually kill each other off. No one wins. However. . ." Ripred paused again. "If for some reason the cutters were to attack. . ."

"Ripred, you don't want to be the one to say it either!" Gregor sighed. "If we were to somehow provoke the cutters into attacking us, then we get our unity."

Silence reined a third time.

"Overlander, you realize that this game would be very risky. Not only do we have to provoke the cutters, but we cannot let the gnawers or human or any other of our allies realize _we_ made the initial aggression. If we succeed at that, the war against the cutters would be long. It would be hard. We have no way to guarantee our victory."

"How else, Ripred? How else will peace be ensured? Unless we engage an outside force on the alliance, their cooperation will surely disintegrate into war. As you said, we would end up annihilating ourselves."

"Is it worth it? Boy, you must understand this. I am willing to bet this is a fairly new notion to you. I have had it as an emergency plan for longer than I care to remember. We need to get in depth. You need to know exactly-"

What exactly Gregor needed to know was cut off by a buzz from Gregor's pocket. "Shhh!" he hissed at Ripred. He pulled the phone out and flipped it open. "Hello? Yes. Okay. Yes. I will. Mhm. _Yessssss._ Bye." He slid the cell phone back in his pocket. "Look, Ripred, I gotta go. Like, now. I gotta find Lizzie and head home." He added the last part because he felt Ripred would be more agreeable to letting Gregor go if he knew Lizzie was involved. The girl and rat had developed quite a bond.

Ripred growled in frustration. His tail whipped a stack off books off the table. "You would be wise to meet me tomorrow so we can continue our discussion."

"Where? Here?"

"No, in a safer place. The entrance to the Underland in your recreation park. The cavern underneath there. Say. . . Noon. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal."

"Okay, rager-boy. It's a date. Just don't stand me up." Ripred laid down and opened a book.

Gregor had already gone. He quietly closed the door, and then walked as quickly as possible out of the winding maze of bookshelves. As he looked for Lizzie, his was mind reeling and his heart racing. What was the right thing to do? Was there even a right thing to do? Were hundreds of deaths now worth saving thousands of lives in the future? Gregor bit his lip. He couldn't shake the feeling he was way over his head.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note: Hello everyone. I'd like to take this time to remind you that, no, I do not own the rights to ****Gregor the Overlander**** and its sequels, and, yes, those right belong to Suzanne Collins, and, yes, this chapter is very short, and, yes, I had a busy week. That is all. **

**VIII**

"Hey, watch out!"

Gregor, lying on his back with his eyes closed, barely heard the warning, until a more insistent, "Dude on the ground, heads up!" caused his eyes to fly open. He blinked once, then his mind quickly registered a red Frisbee careening towards his head. He rolled to the side on instinct, and the disc landed with a _thunk_ where his head was not a second ago.

Gregor picked up the Frisbee, and looked around. The park was full of kids and adults alike, enjoying their long weekend. Dogs yapped at birds, teenagers lolled around, listening to music and playing Frisbee golf, and young kids ran about in a wild game of tag.

"Hey, man!" A boy was waving to get Gregor's attention. "My bad!"

Gregor grinned to show it wasn't a problem, and flicked the disc towards him.

The boy caught it, and gave Gregor a thumbs-up, then hurried back towards his group.

Gregor sat back down with a sigh. He wished he was hanging out with Larry and Angelina instead of waiting for noon so he could talk to a rat about problems he really did not want to deal with. He leaned against a tree (it was unseasonably hot in the sun) and drew his knees up to his chest.

Earlier that morning they had received a very formal call requesting Lizzie from her friend Jedidiah, or whatever the hell his name was. Gregor didn't particularly care for Jed's style or personality, but then again, he wasn't Gregor's friend. Lizzie had been picked up, then Gregor's mom took Boots off to go shopping for school supplies (School started tomorrow? How was he supposed to handle school and all this Underland drama?) and Gregor's father had offered to take him to a science store, but Gregor had declined, saying he was supposed to meet a friend at the park. Gregor's dad had laughed, tousled Gregor's hair and told him that he was a great kid to adjust back so quickly. Adjust back. Haha.

Gregor glanced at his cell phone. 11:50. Finally. He picked his phone up off the grass and slid it into his pocket. He then stood and stretched. He had been waiting for nearly two hours. Way to bring a book to plan ahead, Gregor, he thought bitterly to himself.

Getting through the secret passage was more difficult than Gregor thought. The rock was reasonably secluded, but people still wandered by every so often. Then there was the fact that while he was in the Underland, the passage would be open and all too visible. It was a risk he would have to take thought, as there was no way to hide it. He moved the boulder as slightly as possible and sucking in his stomach, managed to squeeze in the narrow gap. He then did his best to roll the rock back into place.

Pleased with his work, Gregor made his way down the now-familiar path to the Underland.

As opposed to strangely the sunny and warm Overland, the Underland was oddly cold and wet. Gregor shivered slightly as he descended, wishing he had a jacket. But he would look like an idiot with a jacket on in this weather at Central Park, he argued with himself. Better to look like an idiot than catch a pneumonia in the Underland, he countered.

Gregor suddenly became aware he was arguing very intensely with himself, and shook his head. He was going to end up crazy, he just knew it. He sighed, and made a conscious effort to not think about anything the rest of the trip.

Gregor reached the appointed meeting place about five minutes past noon. A quick echolocation scan proved that nobody else was present. Rolling his eyes, Gregor sat down. A few minutes passed, then he stood and tried to warm up. He paced around, rubbing his arms and wondered where on earth Ripred could be.

This was not the first time Ripred had failed to show up for a meeting. Not too long ago, the rat had gone off the chase down his little runaway, but the Bane (the runaway in question), had Ripred trapped in an obsidian pit. Gregor and his friends had arrived to find Ripred, and from there it was a blur of memories until what Gregor thought would be his final time in the Underland.

Gregor willed his mind to go blank again, and resumed his arm-rubbing. Why was it so cold down here? It usually pleasant enough, except for the God-forsaken jungle. . . That place was not only humid, but everything was freaking trying to eat you or dismember you. Gregor scowled at the memory.

About five minutes later, Gregor was about through with waiting. He clicked to get a feel for where he was using echolocation, when he 'saw' something move. He hesitated, then clicked again. There was definitely something moving towards him. With no weapons, Gregor shrank against the wall, hoping that whatever it was barreling at him was friendly.


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: After the embarrassingly short Chapter 8 (which left much to be desired in my opinion), Chapter 9 brings back my dignity with a whopping two thousand and forty-five words. Whoo! Sorry this took so long, by the way. I've been overloaded with stuff to do, and unfortunately have not had much time to write. I will be more timely in the future. On another note, I do not own any of the rights regarding ****Gregor the Overlander**** and its later installments. Those rights belong to Suzanne Collins. That is all.**

**IX**

The next five seconds happened incredibly quickly, but they were very clear and defined to Gregor nonetheless.

First, he realized that the huge mass hurtling towards him was a rat. An instant later, it became clear that the gnawer was Ripred. The second second (oh, the irony), Gregor watched as Ripred reared onto his hind legs while extending his forepaws towards him. Halfway through the third moment, Gregor found himself first in the air, then before he could blink, he was on Ripred's back. The fourth second her heard the words, "Hold on!" His hands instinctively grasped tufts of fur, and fifth Ripred dropped down onto four paws again, and was off.

Approximately ten seconds later, Gregor realized that all those events had in fact happened, and he was clinging to Ripred's back for dear life as the gnawer tore through the tunnels. Strangely enough, Gregor was very calm about it. Perhaps the shock hadn't set in. Or maybe he was used to this sort of thing by now. Who knew? He wrapped his legs tightly around Ripred as he could and leaned in to the big rat's ears.

"Where are we going?"

"Running - fast - moron - can't - talk."

Gregor sat up a bit. Ripred _was _running fast. In the first grade, Gregor had done a report on cheetahs, and he remembered saying they could run 85 miles per hour. He said that just to boost the coolness of his presentation, and got marked down because cheetahs could only go around 70 to 75. Still, that made them the fastest land animal. . . But Ripred could give them a run for their money. The rat was streaking at what Gregor guessed to be at least. . . well, really fast. Since it was totally dark, Gregor had only the rushing air and his echolocation to determine their speed.

After a couple minutes of marveling how fast Ripred was running, Gregor began to realize (again) that this was real. He shook his head to get himself out of the trance-like state that had engulfed him and blinked several times. As if waiting for Gregor to wake up, his brain immediately began making connections.

Ripred was running. Ripred was not only running, he was running _fast_, fast enough and long enough to suggest that something was wrong. It was unlikely Ripred was fleeing from a fight, as the gnawer could hold his own against several hundred. Therefore the rat must be trying to get somewhere. Or Ripred thought Gregor would be in danger. Where were they going?

Gregor moved closer to Ripred's ear once again, but before he could ask anything, Ripred screeched to a stop. The move was so abrupt and unexpected, Gregor flew off, taking handfuls of Ripred's fur with him.

Gregor landed with a painful thud onto hard stone. He stood and took a dizzy step before nearly falling again. He did his best to gather his scattered wits quickly, because Ripred was saying something. To him. What. . .

"Roll – stone – front – of – arch. . ." Ripred wheezed. He was lying on the ground, his chest rising and falling at an alarming rate.

Gregor did a fast echolocation scan of the area. They were in a reasonably large cavern that seemed to have only one entrance. There was a large slab pushed against one wall, but otherwise the room was empty.

No, Gregor corrected, there was a circular piece of rock several feet in diameter that was resting near the entrance. He ran over to it, and pushed with all his might. At first, it wouldn't move an inch. Then, the disc ever so slowly began to roll to cover the entrance. Gregor gave it all he had, and finally the stone had blocked the entrance completely off.

Pleased with his strength, Gregor turned around and looked at the cavern. Ripred had picked himself up and gone over to the stone slab. "There are some torches here." The rat offered.

Gregor walked over to the rock, which he now realized was some sort of table. Well, it was covered with what looked like food. Food and torches. There was only one problem.

"How am I supposed to light these, Ripred?" Gregor frowned, waving the unlit stick at the rat.

Ripred said something unintelligible through a mouthful of food. He swallowed, then said, "Yes there is, rager-boy. You know how flint works, I hope."

"Oh. Yeah, I know how it works." Grateful his science-teacher dad had shown him how to make a fire some years ago, Gregor picked felt around for a piece of flint as Ripred continued to eat.

Gregor lifted the torch up and proceeded to light the rest and balance them precariously against the stone table. He then perched on the edge and waited for Ripred to finish eating. Within a couple of minutes it became clear that the rat would not be done eating for a while, so Gregor just started asking his questions.

"Where are we?"

"'uh 'at Nation 'ation." Ripred swallowed and tried again. "A Rat Nation Station."

"The heck. What on earth is 'Rat Nation'?" Gregor asked.

Ripred made a face. "'Member 'ose ooh 'ere 'ith me agnst Bane?"

Gregor mirrored Ripred's look. "What? 'Remember those who were with me against the Bane'?"

Ripred nodded and cleared his throat. "Being rats, they wanted some sort of recognition for their early following of me. So I told them they could be a special group."

"That makes sense. But 'Rat Nation'? Really Ripred?"

The large rat rolled his eyes. "That brilliant title came from your gal pal Lapblood. Remember her? She's in charge of this elite group. Under me, of course."

Gregor nodded. He remembered Lapblood very well, as she was one of the three rats he counted as friends. Of the three, one, Twitchtip, was dead, and Ripred, though he seemed trustworthy through and through, was still slightly. . . well, shifty. Great friends.

"So Lapblood and her friends set up a network of strategically located caverns with food and supplies. Just for emergencies, I suppose." Ripred continued before taking a large bite of the gelatin-like substance he was eating.

"You suppose? What do they actually do?" Gregor persisted.

Ripred shrugged. "I know not. I leave them to their own devices for the main part. I do believe they consider themselves spies. Who they spy against is anybody's guess."

"Ok," Gregor rubbed his forehead. "Why were you running here? And why is it so cold down here? Why were you late? What-"

"Is the price of a silver spoon in the Fount?" Ripred cut in. The rat popped a huge portion of the rubbery-grey food in his mouth then sighed dramatically. "These questions make one ponder much, and lead the thinker along lonely and dangerous roads. Who am I to ruin the wake of such intricate processes?"

"I have no idea what you mean. I just want to know what's going on."

"Don't we all." The gnawer replied, and struck a philosophic pose, chin resting on his fist. "Alas, time is once again of the essence. Such frivolities must be forsaken for the good of the deeper meaning."

Gregor rolled his eyes. "Again, I don't know what you're talking about. In fact, I'm starting to think you're just trying to sound impressive."

Ripred slid out of his deep-thinking act, and into the more in-your-face style that Gregor was used to. He did it so fast that Gregor was thrown off, however.

"Overlander, we made plans at a very bad time. Here's the new plan; you stay here, keep hidden and don't eat all my food. Deal? Deal." The rat then bounded off to the slab Gregor had covered the entrance with and started to heave it aside.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Gregor called after the gnawer. He jogged up to the rat. "No deal! Tell me what's going on!"

"I forgot how whiny you were." Ripred grunted, moving the boulder aside. "One-I was running here because it was faster than walking, and the situation called for speed. Two-Ice is usually cold. Three-I was held up by a previous and unexpected engagement." The rat gave another shove and the entrance was clear. "There are your answers, no hold up your end of the bargain, rager-boy. I'll be back. Eventually." With that, Ripred streaked silently off into the darkness.

Oddly deflated, Gregor turned back into the room. He sat down glumly near the table and thought. Ripred had been evasive and unhelpful, which was not entirely unexpected, but annoying nonetheless. Gregor tried to wait patiently and clear his mind of everything, but as time passed he grew more and more angry at Ripred. First, he was late, then he told Gregor nothing, and then he told Gregor to wait for an unspecified amount of time for him to come back. No way! Not only would his family miss him, Gregor thought, but Ripred owed him answers. That was why he had even agreed to meet up in the first place.

Gregor stood. Enough was enough. He extinguished the torches, and after a moment's hesitation, took a chunk of the rubbery food in case he got hungry later. Experience with the Underland told him that you never know the last time you'll eat, so always be prepared. Preparations complete, Gregor took off into the maze of tunnels.

* * *

About fifteen minutes later, Gregor was freezing cold. There was no wind in the Underland, and no way for snow to get in from above, yet the air was still frigid. If Gregor could see, he was almost certain he could see the puffs of air from his breathing. He had tucked his arms inside his t-shirt long ago, but it didn't help much. He was seriously regretting his retrospectively-reckless move, and wondering where on earth he was.

His mind went blank as time wore on, blissfully empty of thoughts like 'What will my family think when I don't show up?' and 'I wonder if I'll freeze to death or be killed?' He focused on only rubbing his hands and chest to keep circulation up and putting one foot in front of the other, and clicking every five steps to check his path was clear. Click. . . click. . . click. . . click. . .

Gregor blinked. Had he fallen asleep walking? Was he still walking? _Click_. Yes. He was. Miraculously, he was still upright after sleep walking. Or had he fallen asleep? Was this a dream? Where is here, anyway? It was awfully dark. Was he at the subway? The subway could be kind of weird. He had seen a video about a guy who had met some weird kids on the subway, and the kids took a bag with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the guy, and it turned out the guy was a banana. That had really creeped him out. He idly wondered if _he _was a banana. He had grey gunk, not a PB & J sandwich though. Maybe each banana-man had a different snack. If he was a banana-man, he should probably sit down and try the grey gunk.

Gregor found himself sitting comfortably on a rock. How odd there was a rock in the subway. Maybe they were making renovations. He took a bite of his grey gunk. It had no taste, but felt really slimy going down. He frowned. This would never do. He should probably sleep and come up with a better food tomorrow. The kids would understand. Besides, if anyone was watching, they could fast forward through the part where he went to sleep. . . Content, Gregor nodded off.

* * *

Gregor woke up.

"It's awfully cold." He told the rock. The rock said nothing. Probably asleep, Gregor thought. Gregor tried to move his hand, but his fingers wouldn't obey; they felt very stiff. "Guys, wake up," Gregor pleaded. "I want to let go of this goo." His fingers refused. It occurred to Gregor that if his rock friend and his fingers were asleep, _everyone_ might be asleep. He could do whatever he wanted! He tried to jump up, but his legs collapsed under him. Man, everything felt so numb! How quaint. He giggled. Quaint. "Only queers say quaint!" Gregor gasped. He laughed louder, amused by his quote. "I'm no queer." Gregor informed the rock. "I'm not even supposed to say that. My mom doesn't like me to say things like that. She's a queer for saying that!" He laughed again. His laugh echoed back at him, and it sounded louder than his laugh, so he laughed louder to prove he thought it was funnier than his echo.

As he lay there laughing manically, he became aware someone was coming towards him on the subway. Probably those freaky kids. He cut off his laugh abruptly, and leaned into his rock and hissed, "Quick, I ate those queer's PB & J! Hide me!"

His last conscious thought as the person reached him was that he was really stupid for talking to a rock when it was asleep.


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: As always, I do not own the rights to any of the Underland Chronicles books, characters, merchandise, or movies*. All that (and more) belongs to Suzanne Collins.**

**X**

Gregor woke up, but did not open his eyes. He could feel the weight of his warm blanket over him, and he didn't want to get up. He hoped his mom had made something good for breakfast, because he hadn't eaten in forever. . . Except that weird gunk. . .

Gregor became more fully awake and his mind rapidly pieced everything together. The cold, Ripred's sudden appearance and odd behavior, Gregor's reckless decision, the. . . dream? What had happened?

Gregor sat up and looked around. He was on a pallet with pillows and blankets piled around him. The pallet was in the middle of a small room which was the size of a large closet. Gregor could probably touch each side width wise if he lay down and stretched. The room was made of stone, and therefore probably somewhere inhabited by humans. . . He looked around more. Aside from the pallet, there was a torch flickering in a bracket and a chair with a tall stack of bundled blankets on it. Gregor frowned. Where was he?

"No need to look so worried, Overlander. There's no threat here."

Gregor gave a start. Where had the voice come from? He looked around, saw no one, and then started to stand up, when he whirled around to the chair. What he had taken to be a stack of blankets was actually a teenage girl huddled on the seat. Gregor fell off-balance and toppled over.

"Nerissa," he sighed, standing up embarrassedly, "You have got to stop just showing up like that."

Nerissa slid off the chair and sat on Gregor's pallet, bringing her cocoon of blankets with her. "I was here all along. It was you who failed to see me."

"Yeah, I guess." Gregor sat back down feeling very much like a jack-in-the-box. "Where are we, exactly?"

"In Regalia." Nerissa responded (Gregor's heart skipped a beat). "We are in a not often used portion of the royal house." She added as if sensing his dismay.

Gregor relaxed. "So I'm still secret?" Nerissa nodded. "Then how in the world did you manage to carry me all the way here? No offense or anything." He hastily added.

She smiled slightly. "I take no offense. I merely guided you. You walked quite well, though you were in some sort of altered state of mind. . ." she peered curiously at him. "It is my turn to ask a question of you, Gregor. How did you come to be down here?"

"I was, ah, well," Gregor faltered. He knew he could trust Nerissa, but how would she react to his and Ripred's idea? "I was meeting Ripred. He wanted to see how I was doing."

Nerissa looked vaguely surprised. "How did Ripred know of your return?"

"I kind of ran into him one night in the Overland."

"Oh." Nerissa lapsed into thought. "And did you meet up with him? I did not see anyone near you."

"Not so fast." Gregor said, playing for more time. "My turn to ask a question. How did you find me?"

"I was out to see the Waterway for myself. I had heard rumors, of course, but I had foreseen nothing of this. I needed to see it for myself. I was returning when I heard laughter. I followed the sound and found you."

"Lucky you were there. Wait, what? Rumors of what?"

"I am guessing you failed to meet Ripred." Nerissa guessed. "Otherwise, he would have informed you."

Gregor nodded and motioned she should continue.

Nerissa pulled her blankets tighter around her and began. "Our Waterway is fed from a combination of water that is already under the ground as well as water from your Overland. This Overland water soaks through the earth at a fairly constant rate. Recently, however, we have been experiencing rising water levels, or so I was told. Even more recently, yesterday in fact, reports of something happening that had not been seen here in the Underland. There was…ice…on the Waterway."

That explains the cold air, thought Gregor. It must be really weird for these people. They've never experienced snow or any sort of weather for that matter. Aloud, he said, "Ice? Where did it come from?"

Nerissa shrugged. "It is unknown. I do believe there is to be a meeting today to discuss this matter."

A thought hit Gregor. "Oh man! What time is it?" He rummaged in his pockets for his cell phone. The dying backlight showed five o'clock. "I've been gone for five hours!" he exclaimed. "Oh man, oh man, oh man! My parents are gonna kill me!"

Nerissa looked horrified. "Kill you? But Gregor,-"

Gregor shoved his phone back into his jeans pocket. "I was exaggerating. I do have to get out of here though!"

Nerissa considered him. "I am under the impression my presence is required at this meeting. I am sure that most of the Underlanders in Regalia will be at this meeting. If you wish to return home, then would be the ideal time."

Gregor took a deep, steadying breath. "Okay, that works. When is this meeting?"

"It is coming up very soon. But I must ask another question of you first."

"Sure thing. Shoot. I mean, go ahead and ask." Gregor amended when he got a confused look from Nerissa.

"Why were you in such a state when I found you? You were laughing very loudly, then when I reached you, you appeared to be unconscious, yet you walked easily enough when I guided you. Also, why were you unable to meet the gnawer?"

"I'm not entirely sure, Nerissa. I think I was just exhausted from the cold. It felt like a dream. . . I don't really remember much. As for Ripred, who knows why he wasn't there. He has a very busy schedule, I'm sure."

Nerissa bit her lip. "He _is_ a gnawer, Gregor. Things are not quite as smooth as one would hope between them and the humans."

"Nerissa, he didn't set me up to be ambushed or anything. It's okay. Something probably came up." Gregor said as soothingly as he could.

Nerissa stood, shedding all but one of her blankets as she did so. "I trust your judgment, Overlander. I must depart for the discussion now." She still looked worried.

Gregor rose as well. "Okay, thanks for your help. I probably would've gotten frostbite or something if you hadn't found me." Gregor wriggled his fingers. He was exarggarating a little bit, but he wanted Nerissa to feel good about herself, and to get her mind off the inter-species tensions.

"Frostbite?"

"Um, it's when you get so cold, your fingers and toes and stuff, um, like, freeze up and have to be cut off."

Nerissa shuddered, and Gregor doubted it was from the cold. "That sounds very unpleasant. I'm glad to be of assistance." She smiles her vague smile and started away.

"Hey, wait a second! I don't know how to get out from here."

"That is true. . ." Nerissa thought for a moment. "You must follow me, but be careful. This area was deserted before, but I do not know if that still holds true."

They started swiftly out of the room and down the corridor. Gregor was grateful Nerissa didn't question his desire to remain unseen, and even Gregor himself did not fully know why this was.

After quietly making their way through the castle, Nerissa held out her hand to stop Gregor before they passed through an archway.

"Once we go through this, I will go to the right and into a meeting chamber. You must continue to go right until you reach a spot where the corridor splits into three paths. Go left, and you will find yourself in a downward-slanting passage. Follow it until the stone gives way to earth. Use the sound of the Waterway to find your way back up."

That was quite a speech for Nerissa, Gregor thought. "Ok, you go, and then I'll follow a few seconds later." The girl nodded, grasped his forearm briefly, and then went around the corner.

Gregor counted to fifteen in his head, then went through the archway himself. He pressed against the walls and did his best to keep in the shadows and move quickly and silently, but when he passed the entrance to the meeting room, he stopped.

The room contained a large circular table and several members of almost every Underland race milling about. One person caught his eye in particular, however. Though her back was to him, there was no mistaking the long silvery-blonde hair, the beautiful skin and the golden circlet on her head. When she turned, the sight of her profile made Gregor weak-kneed. Luxa was beautiful.

He stood and stared, but then his brain leapt into action. He forced himself to start moving again, but as he crept off, he couldn't resist one last backwards glance. Luxa had moved on, and in her place was Ripred. Gregor felt weak-kneed again, but this time for a totally different reason. After skipping out on the rat, Gregor felt Ripred wouldn't be that pleased with him.

Gregor continued down the passage, arrived at a split, then proceeded left and soon found himself in tunnels. He found this odd, as the palace was supposed to be locked up tight, with only one main entrance plus the secret turtle passage. He supposed this could be a new addition, or something. At least it was there.

He continued for a while, compulsively checking his cell phone every once in a while to check the time. At 5:25 he stopped when he put his phone up, and distinctively heard a muffled sound from behind him. He could feel his heart rate pick up, but he swallowed and started walking again like he hadn't noticed anything. He did strain his ears, however, and using echolocation from the sound of his footfalls, he determined that he was being followed. By something large, apparently. Gregor sighed inwardly; he had a hunch on who was following him.

He stopped abruptly and spun around flipping out his cell phone to shine light at his stalker. For a moment, Ripred stood stunned momentarily by the light, then the cell phone's screen flickered and died. Enshrouded by darkness once more, Gregor picked up the conversation as he transferred his phone back to his jeans.

"Not one just to give a friendly tap on the shoulder and a hello, are you, Ripred?"

Ripred snorted. "Maybe if you were a bit better at following directions, the need to stalk you wouldn't be necessary."

Gregor shifted uncomfortably. "I'm sorry about that, man. I don't know what I was thinking."

"It's ok, Overlander. I think it's fair to say I wasn't on top of things either."

"Um, no, you weren't. What was up with that?" Gregor caught himself. "I mean, what was going on?"

"Remember that grey food?"

"Yeah. The Jello-y sort of stuff?"

"Yes. That. I did some snooping around. Asked Lapblood some questions. It turns out that it is not suitable for consumption."

Gregor rolled his eyes. "You didn't bother to figure this out before why?"

"What was there to say it wasn't food?" Ripred snapped. "Besides, I was hungry. Now, this substance was discovered by the Rat Nation fairly recently. It apparently has negative effects upon consumption as well as just breathing it in. When large quantities are ingested or inhaled, brain incapacitation is almost certain to occur. In mild or small amount, reality becomes fuzzy and dreamlike, and your mind becomes detached."

Gregor took a minute to soak it all in. "So, when you were running. . ."

"I had already eaten some. Eating more at the other cache only worsened my condition."

"And I breathed some in when I was in there with you. . . And then I ate some after I had left. . ." Gregor said. "That all makes sense."

"Good, I would hate to have to explain it all to you again." Ripred said. "Now, the first thing that came to my mind was an idea, but knowing you, you haven't wrapped your head around it yet. Especially since you're love-struck all over again."

Gregor could feel himself flush. "Ok, look, there's no need to, like, bring her-"

Ripred coughed. "What's that, rager-boy? I cannot hear you. You should learn to speak up. Now," the rat continued before Gregor could interrupt, "You had better hurry home to mommy so she doesn't get worried. Muse on things, and keep out of trouble. In the meantime, I'll be down here sorting out this ice incident."

Gregor's embarrassment and anger were replaced by curiosity. "How did that happen, exactly?"

"You can surely figure it out. Or I can tell you when we meet again. I will be in contact the usual way in a few days. Keep out of trouble."

"Ripred," Gregor began.

"No. Not now. I'm expected back, as are you."

Gregor fought down his disappointment. "Run like the river, Ripred."

Gregor could almost see the rat smile as he replied, "And fly you high, Gregor the Overlander."

There was a scurry of paws, and Ripred was gone.

* * *

As Gregor lay in bed that night, his mind was racing though his body was dead tired. He had worked his way out of the Underland and back home by 5:45, and after explaining his phone had died, and he and his friends were having too much fun playing Frisbee, his parent's initial displeasure with his untimely arrival was soon dismissed. Dinner was largely quiet (except for Boots, who was ecstatic to start school again), and Grace sent everyone to bed early to get make sure they got plenty of sleep for school the next day, which the exhausted Gregor was immensely thankful for.

Gregor couldn't fall asleep though. The odd threat of the grey mind-numbing goo, the mysterious appearance of ice in the Underland and Nerissa and Ripred's worries about the destabilizing human/gnawer relationship had him on edge. He went in circles worrying and thinking until almost midnight, when Luxa's face floated to the top of his mind. She had looked more stunning that Gregor had ever seen her. . . Or perhaps he had forgotten how amazing she truly was. Regardless, the mental image of Luxa finally allowed Gregor to drift off into sleep with a smile on his face. For one night, he was a normal teenaged boy in love with a girl.

***I'm pretty sure there's no plans for a movie, or any t-shirts you can get, but you never know.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's note: As you hopefully can guess by now, I do not own the rights to ****Gregor the Overlander**** and its subsequent follow-ups. Those rights belong to the wonderful, charming, attractive, smart, clever, intelligent, and literarily inclined Suzanne Collins. That is all. (No, I'm not sucking up. What gave you that idea?)**

**XI**

"GREGOR. I am not asking you again! It's time to get up!"

Gregor groaned as loudly and obnoxiously as he could, and sat up. The early November air was tinged with crisp coolness, and it took quite a bit of willpower for Gregor to leave his warm nest of blankets. He had slept soundly after he finally fell asleep, and judging by his mother's mounting hysteria, he had slept in.

Gregor pulled on a shirt, some jeans, his sneakers, and after a moment's consideration, a light jacket. His family had stocked up on new clothes in Virginia, something for which Gregor was very grateful for; he had outgrown most of his clothes.

Dressed, he grabbed his backpack, slung it over his shoulder and went into the kitchen. Boots was literally bouncing up and down in her chair, excitedly talking about how she couldn't wait to go to school. Gregor couldn't help but smile, and he caught his mom's eye. She grinned back before turning her attention to the toaster.

Gregor's smile faded slightly as he sat down next to Lizzie, who was wide-eyed and pale.

"Hey, Liz," Gregor said, taking a sip of orange juice. "I heard some things. . ."

Lizzie tried to reply, but no sound came out. She cleared her throat and tried again. "What sort of things?"

Gregor leaned in conspiratorially. "Well, word on the street is. . ." he paused in a dramatic fashion, and glanced around. "You're going to school today."

Lizzie giggled a little. "Yes, that's true." She whispered back.

"That's what chief told me." Gregor said. "Now, I was asked to pass this message along to you." Gregor took another sip of orange juice and surveyed their father suspiciously over the rim. He leaned in close and said, "Your mission: Take the day nice and easy. If you feel a panic attack coming on, remember, deep breaths. A panic attack is a dead giveaway that the enemy is getting to you. Stay calm, cool, and collected. They won't know what to do."

Lizzie giggled again. "You got it, Agent G."

Gregor did his best to arch an eyebrow critically. "Word of honor?"

Lizzie nodded, not able to conceal her smile.

Gregor gave a satisfied nod. "Then you're good to go, Secret Agent Lizzie. Good luck. Now, eat some toast. May I recommend the strawberry jam?"

Five minutes later, Gregor's mom had departed with Boots (who paused with her happy scampering long enough to give everyone a hug goodbye), and Gregor's father was packing his case, nearly as excited as Boots.

"Now you two," he called as Gregor ran a comb through his hair. "Remember to look before you cross the street and be sure to get to school on time."

"Yes, dad." they chorused. He smiled, kissed Lizzie on the head, clapped Gregor on the shoulder, and was gone.

Gregor finished brushing his teeth, and Lizzie laced up her shoes, then they were out the door.

They didn't talk much on the way, but Gregor felt from her body language that Lizzie was relaxed. When they reached the elementary school, Gregor gave her a bone-crushing hug. "You show the 4th grade who's boss, alright?"

She smiled brightly and replied; "You know I will, Agent G."

Gregor laughed. "Atta girl. See you after school."

"Bye!" She ran through the gates, and soon disappeared amongst the swarm of schoolchildren.

Still grinning, Gregor continued to the middle school. He couldn't wait to see Angelina and Larry again. It had been forever. Plus to be back to school, wonderful, normal, school again would be a huge break from all the madness that had been going on for almost four years.

He wandered onto the grounds and past all the kids milling about. It was seven fifty-five, so the first bell had already rung. He nodded and waved at familiar faces, some of which ran over and bumped fists or gave him brief hugs, along with 'Good to see you, man!' or 'Long time, no see!'.

Feeling slightly taken aback, but glad at the warm welcome, Gregor made his way inside and wound his way through the crowds milling in the hallway. He eventually made his way to room 37, which was his assigned homeroom.

Being an 8th grader had its perks. By this time, the idea of being assigned a random homeroom with none of your friends was laughable. With your upperclassman status, you could request what room you wanted, and so you got to be with whoever you wanted. Gregor had chosen room 37, Mr. Elsbar's English class, for that exact reason: Larry and Angelina.

Gregor slipped into the room, and was greeted by a loud wave of casual chatter. Almost immediately, however, he was hailed from near the back row.

"Gregor! My man!" Larry leapt up and bounded forward. Beaming, he shook Gregor's hand enthusiastically. Gregor laughed and shook back. "Do I know you? The face seems familiar. . ." Larry laughed. "How could you ever forget a beautiful visage like this?"

By now Angelina had rushed over and smothered Gregor with a hug. "Ohh, Gregor! It's great to finally see you again! It just wasn't the same without you around!"

The rest of the class converged around them and soon Gregor was being high-fived and told his return was awesome. The mob only broke up when the last bell rang, then everyone dispersed to their seats (Gregor sat between Larry Angelina. "We've been saving a seat in this row ever since school started." Angelina whispered). Mr. Elsbar stood, and handed a sign-in sheet to someone in the front row.

"Now class, there are two main things this morning." Mr. Elsbar pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. "First, your paper on the 1920's is due. If you would please pass that up to the person in front of you." There was a flurry of movement. "Secondly, I don't know if any of you noticed, but Gregor has finally made his way into class."

Everyone laughed, and Gregor sat back in his chair. It was good to be back.

"Man, you are one lucky dog!"

It was lunch. Gregor, Larry, Angelina and a handful of others were sitting at a table together.

"How so?" Gregor asked, biting into his sandwich.

Larry looked at him like he was crazy. "Elsbar! You don't have to make up any of the projects you missed! Even that Roaring Twenties assignment!"

"Oh, you look so happy for me." Gregor returned. "Remember, I don't have to make up any of the math or history either."

"Well, it makes sense to me."Angelina said, looking up from her homework. "Gregor's been doing work in Virginia, and so it makes sense he shouldn't have to do it again."

"Yeah, but he could've been flunking out, and he'd still get a fresh 'A-plus' to start out with over here." Larry moaned, looking woefully at his milk carton.

"Oh, yeah, like I'm gonna take advantage of the system." Gregor swallowed. "Actually, now that you mention it, I shoulda done that. Dang!"

Angelina rolled her eyes. "Gregor, you're too hard of a worker to slack off on purpose. And besides, your parents would eat you alive."

"True." Gregor admitted, as Larry said, "Are you done with that yet? I need to copy down what you got for number seven. . ."

"Maybe if you did your homework instead of playing video games, you wouldn't need to copy." Angelina snapped.

"Better practice whatcha preach, Angelina. You didn't do your homework either."

Before Angelina could retort, Gregor stepped in. "What homework are you talking about?"

"Geography. We're talking about how water flows and stuff. Horrible. I swear, when I'm in high school I will never ever take geography again." Larry declared.

"So you'll start it up again in college?" Angelina asked, finishing her paper with a flourish of her pencil.

Larry sighed. "See what it was like without you?" he asked Gregor.

Gregor shook his head and laughed. It was really good to be back.


	12. Chapter 12

**Author's note: I don't own the rights to the Underland Chronicles, blah blah, they belong to Suzanne Collins, blah blah blah. Let's get to the story already!**

**XII**

Time flew faster than it ever had for Gregor. Or perhaps he hadn't been in the groove of normality for so long, he had forgotten what it was like. Regardless, the days flew by, and at moments he could swear that he had never left. But certain surprises kept him firmly aware that the Underland still existed, whether he liked to think about it or not.

The first of these surprises occurred his second day back. He was sitting in geography class with Larry and Angelina as the class went over their notes for an upcoming class. Gregor, being new, was exempt from this particular test, so he let his mind wander except to occasionally look through all the papers he had gotten with specifications relating to grading curves and his schedule. It was in one of these instants when he was organizing his binder that he caught a fragment of the teacher's question to the class. ". . .And when the melt water from glaciers runs underground, it can cause. . . .?"

Gregor blinked. He then prodded Angelina with his pencil and hissed, "What did he just say?"

Angelina looked up from her notes and scowled at him. Gregor put his hands up to signify he meant no harm. Angelina sighed, and then shuffled through her bag and handed him her geography book and whispered, "Look it up yourself. Chapter 12."

Gregor grinned, mouthed 'Thank you' and flipped through the book until he reached chapter twelve.

A quick skim through revealed what Gregor had begun to suspect. According to the book, underground rivers and streams were fed by aboveground sources, such as glaciers and rain that seeped through the ground. Logically, this was how the Waterway got most of its content. Reading on, Gregor found that glaciers occasionally fell through the ground into caverns below causing a disturbance in the flow of water. The book failed to mention anything about the temperature, but Gregor was certain that it would cause a drastic decrease, making the underwater stream very cold. Frowning, he snapped the book shut and handed it to Angelina. Now he knew the cause, but what could he do with the information?

* * *

Another reminder occurred about a week later when Gregor was visiting the library with Larry. The two were working on research for their project on _The Odyssey_ and were tucked away in a corner with books spread out on the tables surrounding them.

"Okay, how about this," Larry said, "You write up the paper, and I'll work on the script."

"How about no." Gregor replied, not looking up from his book. "I think we should each do a page for the paper, and we need to get Angelina's opinion on doing a video for our presentation part."

Larry rolled his eyes. "Angelina is at _play practice_. She loves acting more than anything in the world. Anything. She'd love this idea." He folded a wing on a paper airplane.

"Okay, sure, I'll buy that." Gregor said. "But there's no way I'm writing all three pages for this essay."

"You're going to die in high school then. My cousin, he's a sophomore this year, and he's written like five eight-page papers. He hates it and he's a straight-A kid."

"I'll worry about high school once I pass eighth grade." Gregor retorted. "I'll write a page, you write a page, and Angelina will write a page. Then we'll make the script together."

Larry rolled his eyes. "Okay, fine." He flicked the paper airplane and it flew out of sight. "Dang it! If you go get that, I'll do my page."

Gregor laughed. "Yeah, right. If I come back and you have a paragraph done, then I'll be amazed."

He then got up and hurried out of earshot before Larry could reply. He slowed down once he reached the aisles of books, and started combing the floor for Larry's plane. He hadn't been looking long when he saw it in the doorway of one of the study rooms.

Gregor loped over and snatched it up. He stood up, then in the process of turning away, he did a double-take so fast he got a crick in his neck.

He swore, and rubbing his neck, went inside the room and picked up a muddy sheet of paper that read GREGOR at the top in shaky capitals. He sat down, and after careful deciphering of the muddy scrawl, he eventually made out:

GREGOR

WISH TO MEET YOU TO TALK. I AM PLACING THIS HERE IN HOPES YOU WILL RETURN SOON. CANNOT REACH YOUR HOUSE SAFELY. I WILL WAIT AT ROCK ENTRANCE EACH NIGHT FOR A WEEK. BE THERE.

RIPRED.

Gregor groaned. Nothing good could come from this.

* * *

It was seven at night, and Gregor was in the living room of their new apartment. Boots and Lizzie were playing Go Fish in the middle of the room, supervised by Gregor's parents as Gregor double-checked he had everything in his backpack.

"I can't wait to see how this turns out." Gregor's father was saying. "I loved reading _The Odyssey_ back in the day."

"You'll have to come over to Angela's then." Gregor said zipping up his pack. "We still don't have a computer to play it on. Hint, hint."

"You know, I was thinking about that." Gregor's dad said thoughtfully. "With a computer, we'd have so much information at our access just like _that._" He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

Gregor's mom sighed, but smiled all the same. "Dear, we'd have to plan that very carefully financially."

"Yes, I know." Her husband said distractedly. "We could get a flatscreen moniter. Twenty inches wide! And we'd have to get a lot of memory, so we wouldn't have to upgrade. . . Or maybe should upgrade whenever we can - "

"Go fish!" Boots cried triumphantly, interrupting her father's musings. Lizzie obediently drew a card, and Gregor's mother said, "You'd better get going, Gregor. You don't want to keep your friends waiting."

"I was just on my way, mom. I'll see you all tomorrow."

"Do you have everything?"

"Yes, mom."

"Toothpaste?"

"_Yes_, mom."

"Okay, bye, enjoy yourself! Love you."

"I love you too. Bye."

Gregor took off into the chilly night. He was expected at Larry's house at seven thirty so the trio could record their play that summarized _The Odyssey_, then he and Angelia were to spend the night editing the video and their paper. Gregor had his own plans, however.

Once they had finished recording, he was going to act as if he got a phone call from home, telling him he should come home, as a snowstorm was expected. He would then entrust Angelina and Larry with the editing process, and he would venture underground to meet Ripred. He felt horrible about tricking everyone, let alone making his friends do all the editing work, but he felt that the entire population of the Underland outweighed his project getting a 'B' at the worst.

Two hours later, after much messing around, several video games, and eighteen outtakes, they had finished their production. Larry's parents had called for pizza, and the three planned to eat and watch a movie before doing any further work.

When the pizza delivery man arrived, he was bundled up and his teeth were chattering. "That'll be s-s-six s-seventy five, pl-please." Larry counted out the money and gave it to him.

"Is it that cold out?" he asked, looking curiously at the night sky.

"You b-bet it is," he shivered. "Look, you c-can see my breath." He thanked the kids for their business, and hurried off.

"I hope it doesn't storm." Larry said ruefully. "Or on second thought if it does, school may be cancelled."

"If they're predicting something big, my mom will get worried and make me come home. You'd better hope it doesn't snow."

Angelina nodded, and was about to speak when Gregor pushed the play button on his phone in his pocket. He frowned, pulled it out, and sighed. "Speak of the devil."

Angelina giggled. "Your mom?"

Gregor nodded and opened his phone. "Hello? Yes. Mhm. But mom. . . Fine. Okay, sure, whatever. Yes. Goodbye." He stuffed his phone in his pocket.

"She says they're expecting seven inches tonight. She says since we're done filming, she wants me to head home."

Angelina showed the boys a text message on her phone. "My parents say something similar. I guess I'll see you guys."

A dejected Larry bid them farewell and Angelina climbed into her mom's car outside. "Are you sure you don't want a ride? It's getting kinda cold," she called out to Gregor.

Gregor grinned to show his appreciation, and shook his head. "Nah, it's alright. I just live a bit away."

"Okay, bye! See you tomorrow!"

Gregor waved and waited until the SUV was out of sight before heading in the direction of Central Park. He put his hands in his pockets and drew his coat tighter around him as the first snowflakes fell from the night sky. He felt a slight twinge of sadness as he caught sight of a lone bird (or was that a bat? It was hard to see…) fly across the moon. Gregor blew out a foggy breath and said a silent prayer for Ares, and a sent a wish up to the watchful stars that his bond was in a better place.


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Suzanna Collins owns the rights to the Underland Chronicles books, as well as all associated characters. That is all. Nothing to see here. Move along. **

**XIII**

When Gregor flipped on his flashlight as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was only vaguely surprised to find Ripred accompanied by a host of other rats. He recognized a couple, such as Lapblood and a few others from Ripred's support group during the war. Others he did not know, or didn't remember. Regardless, he felt slightly panicky at the sight of so many rats when he was unarmed.

Ripred smiled (or was that a leer?) and gestured with one of his forepaws. "Glad you could make it."

Gregor did his best to remain expressionless. "Yeah. Now, what's the big idea?"

"Oh, dear. Aren't we sulky. It must be that teenager rebelliousness. Or perhaps. . ." Ripred took a deep sniff. "Fear. . . ?" his leer grew larger.

"I'm tired of this sort of thing, Ripred. What do you need?" Gregor tried to keep his voice toneless, but he heard his voice rise a bit. Dang it.

Ripred ignored him with a casual flick of his tail. "I understand if you're afraid of the big bad rats. Especially this gang of gnawers. I'm sure you remember Lapblood. Possibly Ramseye and Stonefang?" he nodded at each rat as he mentioned their name, and Gregor nodded stiffly at each one, but couldn't help but smile quickly at Lapblood. "And then of course we have Flyfur and Sixclaw, you have never met, I believe, but you do share quite bit of history. Then we have-"

But Gregor had stopped listening. Flyfur and Sixclaw. The names awoke some dusty memory. . . they were. . . Lapblood's children. The only ones who survived. The reason she had gone on the trip with Ripred and the others to find the cure. Gregor looked curiously at them. As typical for gnawers, they had grown very fast. Flyfur was a dark grey with streaks of silver and was the taller of the two. Sixclaw had a sandy color to his pelt. Or at least Gregor assumed it was a he. He didn't actually know the gender of the two rats. He shook himself mentally. Ripred had finished the introductions, and Gregor switched his attention back to what the rager was saying.

"So now that we all know each other, let us get to the urgent matter." All the rats spread out from their wedge-shape behind Ripred into a large circle and made themselves comfortable. Gregor hesitated for a moment, then sat down himself. Ripred moved to the middle of the ring, and began a speech.

"My dear Rat Nation, and young Overland rager, we find ourselves in a most distressing situation.

Though the Bane is dead and peace rules over our beloved Underland, things are not as they should be. Whispers amongst the gnawers, murmurs amid the humans, and slight twitches of discord are breathed within each race. We have rebuilt ourselves almost to our standings prior to the war, though the deepest scars still remain. We need each other for food and supplies, though that need dwindles each day. Soon, when all reconstruction is finished, what will keep us together? What will save us from plunging into another great war, and continue this cycle of violence until the Underland is but an enormous graveyard?"

Ripred paused dramatically, and looked around the circle.

"I have an answer, but it must wait, for there are more problems besetting us.

There is the matter of the brain-mold, which members of this very group discovered. It was left unattended and unguarded, with most upsetting results." A growl escaped his throat. "But, happily, the mold is now contained. But we must ask ourselves: What if there is more, and what shall we do with the mold that is in our possession?

Again, I have an answer, but there is one last issue that must be addressed.

Our main supply of water, the mighty Waterway, is home to a growing number of. . ." Ripred struggled for a word, and Gregor spoke up.

"Icebergs."

Ripred made a snuffling noise. "Yes. Blocks of ice. These. . . icebergs. . . are causing not only the air we breathe here to become colder and colder, but they are killing the fish in the water, and freezing portions of the water we use to survive. They appeared suddenly and without warning. How can we deal with such a disturbance when we have no previous knowledge of these objects. Gregor the Overlander, please stand up."

Gregor rolled his eyes. That would be just like Ripred to put him on the spot without any forewarning. But luckily Gregor was not about to make a fool of himself by not knowing what had happened.

He moved to the center of the ring next to the large gnawer and began.

"The icebergs, ah, are from aboveground. You know, the Overland." Gregor paused and bit his lip. How could he explain this in a way the rats would understand? "So, these icebergs, sometimes they melt and the water from them goes through cracks in the ground and comes underwater. That's how the Waterway was formed, I suppose. Runoff from aboveground lakes and things. But now it looks like the water aboveground has carved a path so wide that whole icebergs are falling through and down into the Waterway." He stopped again, and glanced at Ripred. "Does that make sense?"

Ripred considered for a moment. "Yes, it does appear to be logical to me. What say you?" he barked at the group. There was a general assent and Ripred nudged Gregor back to where he was sitting before.

"Thank you for helping us understand the cause of that problem, Overlander. Allow me a moment." He swept back and forth inside the ring of watchers, flicking his tail and muttering. Gregor heard rather than saw several of the rats talk to their neighbors as Ripred stalked back and forth.

Ripred soon returned to the center and reared up onto his hind legs. The circle fell silent right away. Looking pleased that he was in control, Ripred began.

"I think I know how to solve all our problems in one fell swoop. It would be difficult, it would be deceitful and it would be dangerous. It would be quite an interesting adventure.

First, we must make sure we are the only ones in control of the mind-mold. If there is any more, we must acquire it, and do so in a manner that does not attract attention to our operation.

Once we are the sole controllers of the mold, we must use it to help spur a war between the cutters and the rest of the Underland. We must do so in a way that will make the cutters attack _us_, but also in a fashion that does not allow the general population to know that _we_ instigated the fight."

Ripred paused, and Gregor couldn't help but grin; the gnawer was using the same speech, almost word for word, that he had given Gregor a few weeks ago.

"This plan must be very carefully planned and executed. I have a few ideas, but they need work. Afterwards, if you have any suggestions, you will find me open.

As for this iceberg issue, it can be solved in tangent with our other solutions. Assuming we go to the cutters to launch our plan, we will head north. Now, the Waterway is fed from the north, and if I remember correctly, the north pole is logically a place we will find quite a number of these icebergs. On the way to the cutters, we simply plug the hole, and prevent further damage and ice dropping in. The chunks already in our water will simply melt as time passes."

Looking quite pleased with himself, he clapped his forepaws together and took in the audience. "That, ladies and gentlemen, is the plan so far."

Gregor went up to Ripred to talk, but he was shooed off as Ripred was consulted by members of the Rat Nation. Feeling cold, tired, and slightly resentful, Gregor went over to the wall and slumped down. To his surprise, he was soon joined by a Flyfur and Sixclaw.

"Hey." Gregor said uncertainly. "Do you want a seat?"

The rats glanced at each other, then sat down in front of Gregor. There was a bit of an awkward pause, and then Flyfur spoke up. "Greeting, Gregor the Overlander. I am Flyfur, and this is my brother, Sixclaw." Flyfur had a higher pitched voice; so she was a girl.

"Nice to meet you." Gregor replied. "It's cool to actually meet you."

The rats looked confused at this, so Gregor quickly corrected himself "It's really good to meet you."

The gnawers' expressions cleared.

"Oh no, it is our honor to meet you, Gregor the Overlander." Sixclaw said meekly. "We have heard a great deal of you and your adventures."

"It is true." Flyfur agreed. "Our mother speaks very highly of you."

Gregor felt very flattered. "Oh, wow, um, that's great! But, you know, it's not like she's not a hero. She was with me in the jungle and in the war."

Sixclaw twitched an ear. "That is true. She acts as if it was nothing."

Gregor grinned. "That's Lapblood. Ever the humble one."

"Much like yourself."

"Wow, um, I think you're really making me out to be a lot more than I am. . ."

Flyfur and Sixclaw would not be moved, however. It soon became apparent Gregor was something like a superhero to the two rats, and they were absolutely awed by him. Gregor was simultaneously very flattered and exasperated.

"Look," he said some minutes later, "I know that I've done some stuff to help you guys out. But honestly, it was because I had some personal reason or I was sort of expected to because of those prophecies. And I wasn't the only one to do this stuff either. I had loads of help. It was a team thing. I wouldn't have gotten anything done without their help."

"But you were the warrior." Sixclaw pressed.

"You ran to distract Gorger." Flyfur added.

"You killed the Bane."

"You-"

"Okay, okay. I did some stuff on my own. So what? Ares helped in the Bane fight too. You guys are really making me out to be some sort of hero."

"But you are!"

Gregor was rather relieved when Ripred called his name.

"Oh, hey, look, I gotta go." Gregor said. "I'll see you two around, okay?"

He leapt up and hurried over to Ripred. Before the rat could open his mouth, Gregor asked a question.

"Ripred, will all these gnawers keep my being here a secret? I don't everyone knowing I'm back."

"No, they will not. Unless I ask them."

"Do it."

"My, so pushy. I doubt I can be troubled to now."

Gregor gritted his teeth. "You asked me down here. I came as you asked, and now you owe me."

Ripred's eyes lit up. "Me? Owe you? I think you are mistaken on that term."

Gregor took a deep breath. Angsty aggression would not work on Ripred. Games would.

"Okay, sorry. I was just worked up."

"Smart pup. Now, -"

"Worked up and hungry." Gregor continued. "I can't wait to go back up and have some homemade food from Mrs. Cormanci's kitchen."

Ripred stopped dead. "Oh, you are still friends with her?"

"You bet. Man, I can taste it already. . ." Gregor closed his eyes and put on his best content face.

"Let us make a deal." Ripred said smoothly. "I will ask my Rat Nation for their word that your appearance in the Underland remains secret if you can deliver some of Mrs. Cormanci's cooking the next time I see you."

Gregor pretended to think. "I don't know, Ripred. . ." He lapsed into silence. "Okay, it's a deal." Gregor extended his hand, and Ripred stuck out his forepaw and they shook awkwardly. Man and rodent, united by the cooking of one woman. Historic.

Ripred let out a barking, "Attention!" and all the rats turned to him. "I beg a moment of your busy social lives." He said in a bored voice. "This boy, this Overlander, his being here is secret, and it is to stay that way. Am I understood?"

"Yes, Ripred." The rats chorused in an equally bored tone.

"Excellent. If word gets out, you have to answer to me." He bared his fangs in a casually intimidating manner. The gnawers returned to their conversations, and Ripred turned back to Gregor.

"Now that that matter is put to rest, let us talk business."

"Yes," Gregor said. "Let's."


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: It's been a long time. How have you been? Please remember that all rights involving the Underland Chronicles belong only to Miss Collins. **

**XIV**

Ripred sprawled out on his back. "Ridiculous," he growled to himself.

Gregor was slightly thrown off. "What's ridiculous?"

Ripred didn't grace Gregor with an immediate response. Instead, he stretched luxuriously and yawned. "The amount of energy required to run this bunch," he finally said after he had made himself comfortable.

Gregor rolled his eyes. "Giving a speech where you didn't sound bored out of your mind is so hard, I know."

Ripred glared at Gregor from the ground. "I was under the impression we had dealt with your emotional instability."

Gregor bit back the retort that sprang up to his mouth, and Ripred snorted. "Getting better," he muttered.

Gregor leaned against the wall. "So what is the plan, Ripred?"

The rat scratched his stomach. "Were you not listening?"

"Yes. I was listening. I heard. I assumed you called me over because you had something important to say to me."

Ripred rolled onto his side. "Yes, I do. Firstly," he yawned, "lighten up. Secondly," he said a bit louder, because Gregor had tried to interrupt. "Secondly, you need to be patient."

Gregor waited, but the gnawer didn't continue. After about half a minute, he spoke up. "Okay, I waited. What is it?"

Ripred rolled his eyes and flicked his ear. "I do not think you understand. You need to be patient. For say, two weeks or so. Perhaps a fortnight."

"Say what? Look, man, I don't think-"

"No, boy, you do not think, so trust a thinking rat on this."

Gregor fumed. Ripred loved to just smack him down with as little effort as possible.

"Done interrupting?" Ripred drawled. Gregor nodded jerkily. "Good. Now listen, as I will not repeat myself.

My ever-gung ho group of rodents will take a while to search through for any more mold. Even longer still as they will have difficulty getting into the other species' strongholds. Because of this, you will need to go about your business until we have need of you. That is all. Go on."

Gregor seethed. "WHY," he snarled, "am I like a servant to you? I won't just come when I'm called."

Ripred smiled wide, showing his impressive array of teeth. "You have been doing a wonderful job of it so far. You can surely keep it up."

Gregor turned on heel and walked away from the rat. He shook off Flyfur and Sixclaw, who tried to call him over, and he strode straight for the stairs that led to the Overland.

When Gregor reached the park it was still night, not to mention snowing. He swore under his breath and rolled the rock back into place. City Park was not necessarily the worst place to be at night, but it wasn't the safest either. Still, he preferred to be here in solitude as opposed to being with anyone. Besides, going home meant making up a story about why he left Larry's and that was more than he cared to deal with at the moment.

He jammed his hands in his jacket pockets and walked alone through the park. The harsh blizzard-like conditions had faded, leaving several inches of snow on the ground plus a constant fall of flurries. The snow didn't just make his hands and feet cold; his temper cooled as well. It made sense for Gregor to not be involved. He was still an outsider, the rats didn't need his help with this endeavor, and he himself had requested numerous times his return not be public knowledge.

As he trudged through the snow, he began to question exactly why he was drawn to the Underland. It was in an almost constant state of turmoil, and he always ended up in some sort of drama. He had almost died almost every time he ventured down, and odds were that he also ended up lost, out of the loop, injured and/or emotionally spent. It was like he enjoyed being pushed to the limits. . .

Or maybe he felt he owed the humans. After all, they saved his life when he first fell down, not to mention Boots' life as well. But he had repaid that debt several times over, hadn't he? He had bled, his family suffered, his friends tortured, beaten, killed. . . Yeah, he definitely didn't owe anyone down there anything.

Except maybe Vikus. Well, Gregor didn't really _owe_ the old man, but he felt he had a duty to him. Help stand up for Vikus' cause. And Mareth, too. And Howard. Nerissa. . . Luxa. . . Oh, man. . .

He found a bench and cleared off the snow so he could sit down. He missed her so much. He would do anything for her. . .

As the ethereal tendrils of dawn crept through the soft, snowy night, Gregor knew she was the only reason he kept going back.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Rarer than Bigfoot, more unbelievable than Martians abducting your cattle, it's a story update! Though this may send your head spinning, please keep in mind that the rights to all stories and characters relating to ****Gregor the Overlander**** and its sequels belong to Suzanne Collins.**

**XV**

Determined to prove Ripred wrong (something that Gregor noticed was a growing trend in his life), Gregor kept his nose clean the next few weeks. He successfully blocked out most of the Underland (a certain girl seemed to float to the top of his mind rather often, however), and he maintained a fierce focus on school, where he felt more and more comfortable each day.

Another place Gregor was feeling more at home (somewhat un-ironically) was his new apartment. Due to the double income now that both his mother and father were working, his family was more financially sound than they had been for years. As such, Gregor and Lizzie were given a bit more money in their pockets. Gregor had bought a few movie posters he had taped up around his room, along with photographs of friends, family and places and other odds and ends which proclaimed his room as being fully his.

Gregor took to spending at least one night a week at Larry's house, and usually spent Saturdays with both him and Angelina, and occasionally some other kids. Sundays generally found Gregor at home spending time with Lizzie and Boots, or on some days, out with his family on trips to museums, parks, or wherever struck their fancy. To have his whole family functioning and together on this level never failed to amaze Gregor; it was a universe of difference from just around a year ago.

What happened a year ago was almost a taboo topic around his house. Actually, taboo was a bit of a strong word, Gregor thought one day as he and Lizzie walked around a variety store. It was just sort of an avoided topic. Nobody really talked about if they could help it, and the only time they did was late at night after dinner when the whole family (generally minus Boots) was gathered in the living room. And even then it wasn't a topic they lingered on, so Gregor was surprised that Lizzie brought it up one Sunday as she and Gregor were shopping around.

"Gregor," she began, sounding hesitant, "How do you think things are going. . . Um. . . Down there?"

Gregor, who was resignedly looking at new socks without much interest, looked up with a start. "What?"

"The Underland. Do you think that everyone's alright? That Ripred's alright?" Lizzie said, looking firmly down at her shoes.

"Uh," Gregor said, "Yeah, definitely. Even if they wanted to fight again, they couldn't. Everyone needs to recover first."

"Oh." This seemed to placate Lizzie, because she fell into silence, and Gregor didn't bring it back up. They moved on to the dental aisle, and set about gathering new toothpaste when Lizzie surprised Gregor again. "Gregor. . . I don't really, I mean, I'm not really sure how to ask, but, ah, could you maybe, just once, I mean, I'm still worried and I'd like to know for sure, but, um. . . Could you go down there and check on Ripred for me? Check on everything for me?"

Gregor dropped the toothbrush he was holding, but scooped it up before it could hit the ground.

"Er. . . That'd be sort of difficult," he said, looking at his sister closely. "Just figuring out when and how and everything."

"If you really wanted to do it for me," Lizzie said, sounding slightly excited, "We could do it right now. We're not expected home for another forty minutes. I could keep watch while you went down. Please, Gregor?"

Gregor frowned. "Hm. . . I suppose it couldn't hurt. . ."

Lizzie saw her chance and leapt on it. "Yes, exactly! I bet you're curious, too. And if they're really working on peace, like you said, then you shouldn't run into any problems. You could just drop down and check on things, then come back up."

"Yeah, but what about you? I'm not about to leave you all alone in the park." Lizzie opened her mouth, but Gregor continued, "It just wouldn't be safe. That's all there is to it."

Lizzie closed her mouth, looking like Christmas had been canceled.

Before she starting sniffling, Gregor launched Plan Drastic Action That He Would Probably Regret Later. "But if you really want to know now, I could take you with me. I can't believe I'm saying this, but it would probably be safer down there."

Lizzie visibly brightened. "Okay, that would be great! But. . ." she shuddered "Do you think I can make it? I'm not sure I could deal. . ."

Gregor put a protective elder sibling arm around her shoulders. "I have faith in you. I'll be with you every step of the way."

"Promise?"

"Yes, Liz. I promise."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later found Gregor and Lizzie at Central Park by the secret entrance. Lizzie clutched the bags with their purchases as Gregor hefted the boulder aside. He motioned his sister in, and she scurried down into the black opening. Gregor pushed the rock so it was almost across the opening, squeezed in, then dragged it from the underside to almost completely cover the entryway.

He descended the concrete steps to find a wide-eyed Lizzie waiting for him.

"Feeling alright, Secret Agent Liz?"

A smile lifted the corner of her mouth. "I'm fine, just. . ." she made a motion that looked a combination of a shrug and a shudder. She still looked paler than usual.

"Okay, then," Gregor said, holding out his hand. "I'll use my phone for light, and you hold onto my other hand."

Lizzie gratefully accepted the offer, moving both bags to her empty hand. The two set off down the passage, staying close together.

* * *

Gregor was only mildly surprised to see Nerissa out on the outcropping overlooking Regalia where he and she had met a month ago.

She was standing with her back facing them, looking out across to the glowing oasis in the sea of shadows that marked the human city. Lizzie stepped partly behind Gregor when she saw that there was someone there, but Gregor walked forward confidently. He drew up next to Nerissa, and looked out as well. There were about fifteen seconds of silence until the pale seer broke it.

"Greetings to you, Gregor the Overlander, and to you, Lizzie the Decoder. It has been a while. . ."

Lizzie looked up at Gregor, who nodded. She let go of his hand and said, "It's, uh, good to see you too, Nerissa."

Nerissa smiled faintly at her, then looked Gregor in the eye. Meeting her gaze, Gregor told Lizzie, "Go sit down more towards the middle. Nerissa can give us the news."

Looking relieved to move away from the edge, Lizzie gladly moved to the center of the outcropping. When she had turned her back, Gregor drew in closer to Nerissa and breathed, "Don't let her know I've been here."

Nerissa gave Gregor a searching look, then nodded. "As you say, Gregor."

They moved in after Lizzie who was still standing. Gregor sat, and laughed.

"C'mon, Liz, the ground won't bite."

Lizzie gave a wavery grin as she sat, and Nerissa sat cross-legged in front of them. Feeling he should explain what was going on, Gregor began.

"So, er, Lizzie and I were talking just a while ago, and we were both wondering how things were doing down here. You know, since it'd been so long since we'd been around. And. . . Yeah," he ended lamely.

Nerissa took them in a moment, and then turned her attention solely to Lizzie.

"Are you concerned with the well-being of your gnawer friend foremost?"

Lizzie nodded shyly.

"He is well. In fact, he still largely in charge, that is to say, the mouthpiece, of the entirety of the gnawer nation."

Nerissa proceeded to fill Lizzie in on the Underland's doings, and Gregor, having prior knowledge of this, let his mind wander. He took in the glowing city, noting there was less damage, and the piles of rubble smaller. He wondered if his friends Howard, Mareth, and Luxa's new brother, Hazard, were doing fine. His thoughts turned to Luxa, and in turn, Nerissa.

Gregor brought his focus back to his immediate surroundings, and looked closely at Nerissa. She was thin and tall, and as usual, slightly frail looking. Her long hair ran loose down her back. She looked less ragged than she did during the war, but that was only to be expected. . . Gregor frowned. Something else had changed about her?

Nerissa, who had been explaining how the spinner's used a unique web marker in a large web in place of a graveyard, looked up and caught his gaze. She looked surprised he was looking so intently at her, and quickly dropped her gaze back to Lizzie.

Seeing her eyes definitely made Gregor know there was something different about her. But what could it be? As he puzzled, Lizzie and Nerissa continued their question and answer session, with occasional participation from Gregor to make it seem all the news was new to him too.

After about twenty minutes, Gregor interrupted. "Sorry to break this up, guys, but it's time Liz and I headed back. We don't want to be late."

Nerissa nodded, and Lizzie sprang up. "Oh! I lost track to time! When is it?"

"Don't worry," Gregor reassured. "It'll only be six when we get back to the surface."

He cast a critical eye over his younger sister. "You'd better brush off some of that dirt. We don't want to give mom any reason to be suspicious."

As Lizzie dusted herself off, Gregor turned to Nerissa. "Thanks."

Nerissa inclined her head. "You are most welcome, Overlander." She hesitated. "But I fear there is something you must know. I had seen you arriving here in a dream just last night, so I came and waited. . ."

"Okay, Gregor, let's go! I'm done."

Gregor started to the entrance to the caves, but Nerissa grabbed his arm. "Gregor, I must speak to you. Tonight."

Gregor's eyes widened. "Tonight? Come back?"

Nerissa nodded emphatically.

"I – We – Okay. I'll meet you here." Gregor said, knowing he had no way to guarantee his promise.

Nerissa looked like the weight of the world had come off her shoulders. "Thank you very much, Gregor. It is of utmost importance."

"Yeah, alright, no problem." Gregor said as he flipped open his cell phone and started with Lizzie through the caves. "What are friends for?"

Nerissa smiled softly and gave a small wave goodbye as Gregor and Lizzie disappeared into the tunnels.


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: I don't think I've ever mentioned how much I appreciate the reviews/comments/favorites/subscriptions/etc., so I'll take the time now: Thank you, it means a great deal to me. In other news, I've updated my profile and the story description, typed chapter 16 (you don't say…) and the rights relating to the Underland Chronicles are still sole property of Suzanne Collins. That is all.**

**XVI**

After an uneventful trip home, which was followed by an uneventful dinner, and subsequent clearing of the table and family going to do their own thing, Gregor finally breathed a sigh of relief that untied the knot that had been lurking in his stomach the entire time.

He and Lizzie must've acted normal enough to avoid arousing any suspicion, or maybe their mom and dad were too distracted by Boots painting watercolor on the wall and grading papers respectively to notice any odd behavior. As the rest of the family returned their attention to pressing matters (or not so pressing in the case of Boots; she was actively blowing bubbles on the deck), Gregor and Lizzie had a quick word off to the side.

"I told you everything was working out just fine." Gregor whispered with a smile.

Lizzie nodded. "You did. It was so weird being back. . ."

"I know what you mean. Now go on and do your homework before mom gets a chance to nag you."

Lizzie made a face, grabbed her backpack from the floor and headed into her room. Gregor had homework of his own to do that he had been putting off that weekend, but some things were more important than homework. For example, meeting Nerissa to learn about some sort of pressing matter that required his attention. Unlike previous recent trips to the Underland, Gregor took a great deal of time into planning what to take.

He found an old messenger back in the closet, which he filled with a flashlight, a few spare batteries, a roll of nearly depleted duct tape, a couple bottles of water and a small packet of fruit snacks. He looked over his collection, then decided to add a light hoodie just in case it was cold again. He took the bag and hid it behind the door of his room. Night was just now creeping over the city, and he several hours before he planned to go.

Feeling proud of himself for his preparations, Gregor breezed through his homework, organized his school papers, brushed his teeth and tidied up his room. Now feeling proud and slightly restless, Gregor wandered around the house. He watched a bit of football with his dad, scrubbed paint off the wall (though Gregor thought all signs of Boots' graffiti had been thoroughly removed already), blew some bubbles with Boots, played a couple games of Scrabble and Jenga with Lizzie, and before he knew it, it was ten o'clock.

His sisters were safely in bed, but his mom and dad would be awake until probably ten thirty. He lay in bed, fully clothed under his sheets, resisting the urge to look at his bedside clock every two minutes.

Finally, eleven arrived. Gregor got up silently, tossed the messenger bag over his shoulder, and pulled a robe on over his ensemble. He would scope out the house to see if anyone was awake, with being up to use the bathroom or get a glass of water for his excuse. The house was devoid of any conscious family members, however, and Gregor crept back to his room, removed the robe, then stole out like a shadow into the night.

* * *

Walking around New York City at night alone was not the best of ideas, but Gregor kept his eyes down, did his best to look older and taller than he really was. He knew the route so well by now that he walked on autopilot, not taking anything in. When he returned to his body, he found himself already walking down the tunnel to the outcropping. He strode purposefully, nimbly avoiding rocks, wondering what Nerissa had to tell him. It was a real mystery, and he suspected something new had come up. He had told her to keep him in the loop, after all.

When he arrived at the ledge, there was no sign of Nerissa, however. He looked around, clicked for echolocation, but found no sign of her. He pulled out his flashlight, and shone it over the ground, looking for a note or something explaining her absence, but there was nothing. There was something, actually. Gregor did a double take. It glistened sluggishly in under the flashlight's beam. . . Water? Gregor knelt down on his knees and looked closer. . .

. . .only to leap up a second later. It was definitely _not_ water. Looking at the red stain on his forefinger it was quite apparent to Gregor that it was blood. And there was a lot of it. Shining his light around he saw that there were several smaller trails in addition to the larger pool he'd first noticed. A mixture of worry and fear rose in him. This was likely Nerissa's blood. Had something attacked her while she was waiting here? Or had she been hurt before, waited a while for Gregor, then gone back for treatment? Perhaps this wasn't her blood at all. . .

Gregor started to pace. If he looked further into this that night, he'd likely end up not being home in time, and he would be missed. But if he just left knowing something was not right. . . He grit his teeth in frustration.

Head pounding, he turned to the cave leading away. He would leave the Underland for the night, but try to get in contact with Ripred or someone. A few paces on, he had changed his mind. Nerissa's safety and well being were, quite frankly, more important than getting to school on time. A human life was more important than Algebra. He turned abruptly to a different tunnel that would lead towards the Rat Nation service station or whatever the hell it was called he had visited before.

He had not walked three minutes when he became aware he was not alone. He turned around slowly, and then blasted his flashlight on.

There were two gnawers and a flier, all now temporary blinded. The rats were similar, Gregor noticed. Sixclaw and Flyfur? He hastily shut down the light.

"Hey guys." Gregor called out. "Sorry. I didn't know who it was. I'm sorry."

"Gegor the Overlander," it was Sixclaw, sounding apologetic. "We are sorry for not announcing our arrival. We are at fault."

"Don't worry about it. What are you guys doing?" A nasty thought struck Gregor. "You aren't. . . hunting are you?"

"No, Overlander," came Flyfur's voice. "Though it may soon be true."

"What?"

"Come. We must hasten. The gnawers can fill you in as we go."

Gregor paused for a split second before falling next to Sixclaw as the unknown bat and Flyfur lead the way.

Sixclaw dipped his head deeply in greeting. "What brings you to the Underland tonight, Gregor the Overlander?"

"Just Gregor, please," the boy said with a suppressed sigh. "It's sort of a long story as to why I'm here. Let me ask you this though: have you seen any other humans around? Girls, to be specific? A bit older than I am?"

Sixclaw shook his head, and his sister answered from in front. "We have seen no one, save for Octavius here."

"Yeah, so, what's going on exactly?" Gregor asked, his sense of foreboding due to Nerissa's absence and the presence of blood growing.

"Ripred had summoned the Rat Nation," Sixclaw murmured. "Something has happened."

"Happened to what? To who? And if he's calling the Rat Nation, why is Octavius coming? No offense," he quickly added to the flier, who gave a flap to say it wasn't a problem.

"He is, for all intents and purposes, our baby sitter. Our mother calls him a tutor, but that's very rarely what happens."

"Most of the time we just talk." Flyfur added.

"Yes, yes, okay." Gregor said. "But what's happened?"

"We don't know." Sixclaw said softly.

"Oh."

The four fell into silence, leaving Gregor alone with his dark thoughts.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Gregor became aware of a rumbling noise. At first he thought it was the Waterway, but if his memory served him well, there were not anywhere near the river. In fact, they should be getting near to Regalia. He strained his ears as the continued, and as light started to appear at the end of the tunnel, Gregor knew what the deep roar was.

Voices. Hundreds, if not thousands of voices. Shouts, yells, chanting, an overwhelming throb of voices so loud that the rock door they had come to was vibrating. Gregor tried to ask Flyfur what was going on, but he couldn't even hear his own voice. Instead, he tapped her on she shoulder, and tried to mouth his question, but she shook her head and gestured for him to look through the gap that ran around the closed door and the wall.

Gregor flattened his eye against the crack, and was joined momentarily by the other three. What they saw caused Gregor to gasp loudly, which, if there had not been the incredible din, would have probably been a bad idea.

On the other side of the door was the largest gathering of Underland creatures Gregor had ever seen. Humans, rats, cockroaches, bats, mice, lizards, spiders, moles, and even the enormous scorpions Gregor had encountered in the Dead Lands.

And every single creature was making noise. Feet were being stomped, mandibles were crashing together and every creature that could was talking.

The massive gathering was arranged in a semi-circle around an area which was largely empty except for a couple of each species gathered. Directly behind the empty semi-circle was the stone door which Gregor and his companions were.

Gregor noticed several familiar faces in the knot of people in the open area. Vikus, leaning on a walking stick, Athena, queen of the bats, Ripred, slouched on the ground, and Luxa, standing proud and defiant. He did a double take and stared at her. Her long straight hair was glimmering in the light and she was wearing just a simple long sleeved shirt with pants, not at all the regular royal getup. She was beautiful.

Tearing his eyes from the Luxa, Gregor noticed that they were inside the city of Regalia. It appeared to be an open market place made even larger by the removal of the stands and kiosks that usually adorned the area. Gregor was about to attempt communication with Flyfur again when the noise outside dropped considerably. A mouse had stepped up upon a pedestal in the center of the half circle. In a carrying voice, it began to speak.

"Friends, my fellow creatures, we have news. Ripred's team of elite gnawers have acquired information relating to the cutter's mass attack."

The mouse looked as if it was going to continue, until Ripred appeared next to the pedestal. The nibbler hesitated, then stepped down. Ripred took center stage and cracked his tail like a whip twice. The whole group fell silent. Ripred cracked his tail again for no apparent reason (several jumped), then addressed the gathering.

"As you all know, or have been trying to find out, the cutter's have launched a complex and multi-pronged attack on everyone." The gnawer sounded very bored. "This has resulted in a great deal of death and severe casualties. They have retreated, but more, and larger, forces are expected very shortly."

A low murmur had started to rise, and with the words 'expected shortly', it burst into an outburst, which was silenced by another smack of Ripred's tail.

"Due to the rather unexpected nature of this barrage, and combined with the fact that ice from above has killed off a great deal of our crops and caused our water unsuitable for consumption, action is required immediately to correct this problem. Which is why I have proposed a quest. This quest might possibly be maybe connected to a certain prophecy. Or so I am lead to believe."

Ripred reared onto his hind legs and spoke louder. "However, we are missing several keys events, and people, making it difficult know exactly. . ." He trailed off and cleared his throat.

"If any of you know the words to the Prophecy of Silence and believe you know of a recent event that could pertain to the prophecy, please step forward now."

Gregor paused. He whispered, "Stay back," to Sixclaw, Flyfur and Ocatavius, then he swung the stone door open, looked straight ahead (purposely avoiding looking at Luxa), and took five steps out into the clearing.

"I am Gregor the Overlander. I do not know the words to the prophecy, but I am here to help."


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: I bet you didn't see this one coming. **

**XVII**

When someone refers to a 'dramatic entrance', they are often referring to when a villain stalks onstage the first time in a play, and the lights flicker and menacing music plays. Or perhaps they mean that someone was running late for biology class and they burst into the room right as the final bell went off and the teacher's pen was poised to put an 'X' in the tardy box. It is possible for the phrase 'dramatic entrance' to refer to any number of situations, involving all sorts of circumstances, and as such, some dramatic entrances are more striking than other dramatic entrances. As it would happen, Gregor's dramatic entrance would be one of the more impressive ones.

After Gregor had appeared from seemingly nowhere and made his opening line, there were several heartbeats of absolute silence. Not a living thing breathed, not a single person blinked, and all eyes were fixed upon Gregor. The boy himself was held transfixed by the reaction his arrival had caused, and when Vikus finally stepped toward him and put a hand on his shoulder, he almost didn't notice.

When Vikus' hand dropped onto his shoulder, the spell was broken and a cacophony of voices rose up. Gregor looked up into Vikus' kind, worn, face and was relieved to see the old man was smiling. A smile tinged with sadness, but a smile nonetheless.

A small entourage surrounded Gregor as they made their way to the castle. Normally Gregor would have objected to the ring of people following him, but they doubled as a blockade and battering ram to prevent the curious crowds from totally overwhelming him. Among the circle closest to him was Vikus, Ripred (who was looking very smug), Athena the queen of the bats, a handful of human guards Gregor wasn't familiar with, the nibbler who had spoken earlier, and a bat Gregor could have sworn he had seen before. Octavius was circling overhead as well, with Sixclaw and Flyfur perched precariously on his back. Luxa had disappeared to Gregor's disappointment, but there was too much going on for him to lament her absence.

"Your timing is most unexpected, Gregor." Vikus was saying. "But I must admit it is fantastically timed. As you have seemed to have gathered, we are in a state of trouble. Nothing like the last time, thankfully, but a quandary nonetheless."

"Yeah, I can tell." Gregor replied. "What's the hubbub, exactly? Er, what's the issue? Problem. What's the problem." He mentally beat himself for using slang.

"We will discuss it in length at a quieter location. For now, suffice to say, our sources of food are in considerable danger. Among other worries."

The small group finally separated when they reached the towering walls of the capital castle of Regalia. Fliers took turns swooping the group up and over to the other side, where Vikus reconvened everyone.

"I am going to take Gregor to the room of prophecies. Acutorius, if you would please alert the staff of Gregor's arrival. . ."

Ripred addressed Vikus as the small mouse nodded, and scurried off.

"I must take my charges back to their mother." He motioned at Sixclaw and Flyfur. "She has probably worked herself into some level of panic."

"Surely you will return afterwards?" Vikus prompted.

Ripred shrugged. "Most likely I will be back. The odds are even higher if an invitation to dine in your fine hall was offered."

"I too must take my leave." Athena said. "I must rest while you bring Gregor up to speed, for it has been a long time since I have had a moment to myself to regroup."

Vikus nodded at the bat and the rat. "I understand. Run like the river, and fly you high."

Ripred gave Gregor a look that seemed to say "Don't do anything stupid" before rounding up Flyfur and Sixclaw. Athena returned the farewell to Vikus and then Gregor, then swept her great wings and rose out of the castle.

"Shall we, then?" Vikus inquired.

* * *

_MYSTERY BLINDS AS DARKNESS WILL_

_BUT SIGHT IS NOT ALWAYS WITH EYES_

_AFTER HEAT OF WAR COMES A CHILL_

_A VISIONARY VANISHES AS THE DEAD ARISE  
_

_UNDER TO OVER, WHILE CELESTIA SHINES_

_UNDER TO OVER, TO GIVE THE REST TIME_

_FOR YOUR WATER WILL SLOWLY TURN TO STONE_

_DEATH WILL STEADILY GNAW AT YOUR BONE_

_AND SILENCE WILL RULE THE UNDERLAND THRONE  
_

_WHISPERS HAUNT YOUR HEART AND MIND_

_ONE FINAL EFFORT TO KEEP HOPE ALIVE_

_ONLY ONE WILL SEE THE WARNING SIGNS_

_THE TORCH-HOLDER SEES DEATH, NONE SURVIVE  
_

_UNDER TO OVER, WHILE CELESTIA SHINES_

_UNDER TO OVER, TO GIVE THE REST TIME_

_FOR YOUR WATER WILL SLOWLY TURN TO STONE_

_DEATH WILL STEADILY GNAW AT YOUR BONE_

_AND SILENCE WILL RULE THE UNDERLAND THRONE  
_

_SILENCE WILL REIGN ON THE UNDERLAND THRONE_

"What do you think?"

"Not pretty. But then again, Sandwich never was a happy guy."

"That is true."

There was a pause as Gregor read over the Prophecy of Silence again. He set the stone tablet the prophecy was engraved in onto the table he and Vikus were sitting at and ran a hand through his hair.

"I think I get the main idea here. Maybe." he read the first line over again.

_MYSTERY BLINDS AS DARKNESS WILL_

_BUT SIGHT IS NOT ALWAYS WITH EYES  
_

That seemed clear enough to Gregor. Sandwich was saying that you could be blind mentally to facts as well as being literally blind and unable to see. Or at least that's what Gregor was getting from it. Why couldn't Sandwich just come out and say something for once instead of communicating through these loopy poems?

_AFTER HEAT OF WAR COMES A CHILL  
_

Gregor connected this to the ice that had eroded away and broken into the Waterway. A war had just happened after all. In the back of his mind, Gregor was aware that he had to handle this knowledge carefully since Vikus did not know of his recent little excursion to the Underland.

_A VISIONARY VANISHES AS THE DEAD ARISE  
_

Here Gregor hoped Sandwich was using artistic license and not actually saying that zombies would start wandering around. The vanishing visionary was also beyond him.

_UNDER TO OVER, WHILE CELESTIA SHINES_

_UNDER TO OVER, TO GIVE THE REST TIME_

_FOR YOUR WATER WILL SLOWLY TURN TO STONE_

_DEATH WILL STEADILY GNAW AT YOUR BONE_

_AND SILENCE WILL RULE THE UNDERLAND THRONE  
_

This part had Gregor utterly lost. The fact that it was repeated only made it more infuriating. Did Sandwich mean you had to go over and under something during the night to make sure people didn't die? And the stone water and death gnawing at your bones were too vague for Gregor to make heads or tails out of. Not to mention the silence ruling bit. Gregor didn't want to admit it to himself, but reading that last line seriously creeped him out for some reason.

To be honest, everything after that made no sense either. Whispers in your mind? What sort of effort? Warning signs about what? What torch is being held? Metaphorical torch or literal? Classic Sandwich. Damn him.

Vikus cleared his throat. "Now that you are acquainted with The Prophecy of Silence, I will explain our situation to you."

Gregor bit his lip, made up his mind, and spoke up. "Hey, Vikus, listen. . . I think I already know."

Vikus remained silent as Gregor explained his first trip back to the Underland to let go of Aries, his meeting with Nerissa, then his encounters with Ripred, and the mini-misadventures he had undertaken. When he was done, Gregor searched almost frantically for some giveaway on Vikus' face, for the old man had showed no emotion, but nothing was forthcoming.

Vikus did not speak for a long moment and then said, "Gregor, thank you for sharing this with me. I cannot express how much I appreciate the trust we have."

Gregor breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"But - " Vikus continued; Gregor's sigh choked up. "I wish you had informed me you were wandering around down here. Especially that time when Nerissa had hidden you here and you walked right by our meeting."

Gregor lowered his head. "Man, I'm sorry. It just didn't seem like a good time."

Vikus smiled gently. "No harm done, Gregor. What matters now is that you have some information that can assist us, and. . . if you're willing. . . You may take up the role of our savior again."

"Hold on a sec. The whole warrior guy thing is done. He's dead remember? I'm not Gregor the Raging Warrior of the Overland anymore. I'm Gregor the Dude of Normal. I'm not saying I don't want to help, because I do wanna help. I just don't want there to be any sort of misconception about who am I and what I can do."

Vikus nodded. "Well said. But one need not to be a warrior to be a savior. You are familiar with our world, and are an icon to those who live here. That alone can be the force we need."

"After all I've been through an adventure where all I have to do is make a public appearance and wave sounds great," Gregor laughed.

Vikus smiled as well, but when he spoke his tone was serious.

"Gregor, I am afraid I must ask you a great personal favor again. While I speak with Ripred, and then confer with the council, I would like you to stay here. We will get a message to your family to let them know you are safe if you would like."

"That's. . . that's nice of you to offer." Gregor said. "I don't really think I should stay though. My mom would flip the fu-, er, be really upset. And my dad and Lizzie and, yeah, I don't think I need to stay."

"Gregor, please. With what you know, I'm sure we can arrive at a solution much faster. The sooner we begin working on our way out, the sooner you are done here. There is no need to drag out your comings and goings."

"Yeah, that makes sense, but I've already told you all I know. Nerissa wasn't there to meet me, there was some blood around the area, there's ice in the water because the source of your water is some arctic location where the ground has eroded away to let a glacier or something in, and Ripred and his Rat Nation has some sort of mentally effecting mold."

"This is true." Vikus clasped his hands together and bowed his head in thought. "I will ask you to stay for a short while tonight, then. Our deliberations will not take long, and I would like you present to give your input on our plan."

"How long then?"

"I would estimate four hours at the most."

"Four hours? Whoa, that's not gonna work."

"I assure you, that is the longest it will take. When done, we will escort you to the surface safely and with all haste."

Gregor groaned. "Ok, ok, fine. I'll stay. Do you have a spare room or something though? No offense, but I could do without sitting through your meeting with Ripred and the council stuff. Plus it's a school night, man. Just wake me up when you've reached a conclusion, then I can do my bit."

"That is within my power to provide." Vikus stood. "Please, follow me."

Gregor walked alongside the old man, barely noticing all the stares and excitement his presence was causing. He truly was tired, and the thought of Nerissa missing, wounded, perhaps fatally. . . He didn't allow himself to follow that train of thought.

They soon arrived at the wing of the castle where all the royalty slept. Vikus ushered Gregor into an unused room, showed him where the linens and bathroom were located, then bid him goodnight, and promised to send someone to get him the moment the deliberations were done.

Gregor peeled off his clothing, washed his face, pulled on some soft fresh pajama-like garments, extinguished the light and then fell into his bed. He felt himself falling into sleep almost immediately, but something caught his attention and caused himself to pull out of the warm embrace of slumber.

There was a silhouette against the doorframe he could barely make out in the darkness. The figure hesitated, presumably unsure of whether Gregor was still awake. After a moment, the person drew nearer to the bed until they were right beside Gregor.

"Hey," Gregor said.

"Hello," Luxa replied.

There was a moment of silence.

"I never thought I would see you again," she said.

"I-"

"I missed you."

"Yeah. Something horrible."

Luxa leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, and he took her hand.

"Stay with me."

And she did, sitting down on the bed holding his hand in one of hers, fighting back tears. Gregor stroked her cheek with his free hand and smiled, the amount of emotion pouring through him making him feel unreal.

Luxa stayed by his side until he fell asleep, never letting her hand leave his. She watched as he would start to drift off, then struggle to remain conscious. They didn't speak, and they had no need to. Just to be with each other, just to touch and smell the other was enough. Finally, weariness overcame the boy, and he drifted off peacefully. Luxa removed her hand from his ever so gently, and slowly rose to her feet. Giving the sleeping Gregor one last sweeping look, she left the room, her heart lighter than it had been in a long, long time.


End file.
